To All,
Good Thursday morning August 27- 86 this morning in paradise with rain expected??? High of 97 and low of 72.
Regards,
Skip
HAGD
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The Greatest Beer Run Ever - Chickie's Journey Begins
Chickie's Journey Begins - Meeting Tommy in Vietnam 4k scene The Greatest Beer Run Ever
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/. Go here to see the director’s corner for all 100 H-Grams
August. 27
Today in Naval and Marine Corps History
August. 27
1942 USS Iowa (BB 61) is launched at the New York Navy Yard. Commissioned in Feb. 1943, Iowa serves in both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean during World War II and now serves as a museum battleship at Los Angeles, Calif.
1944 USS Stingray (SS 186), after being depth charged and lightly worked over while reconnoitering the designated spot lands a party of one Filipino officer, 14 men and 60 percent of the supplies earmarked for delivery to guerilla forces at Saddle Rock, Mayaira Point, on northwest shore of Luzon. Heavy Japanese shipping in the vicinity compels Stingrays departure before all stores land.
1944 PV Ventura aircraft sink Japanese vessel, Tensho Maru, between Odomari, southwest of Sakhalin and Onnekotan Island, Kuril Islands.
1945 Units of the Pacific Fleet enter Japanese waters for the first time during World War II, to prepare for the formal Japanese surrender on Sept. 2, 1945.
1959 While off Cape Canaveral, Fla., USS Observation Island (EAG 154) makes the first shipboard launch of a Polaris missile.
2007 Vice Adm. Adam M. Robinson, Jr., becomes the first African-American to be appointed as Surgeon General of the US Navy.
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This Day In World History August 27
Today in History August 27
1626 The Danes are crushed by the Catholic League in Germany, marking the end of Danish intervention in European wars.
1776 The Americans are defeated by the British at the Battle of Long Island, New York.
1793 Maximilien Robespierre is elected to the Committee of Public Safety in Paris, France.
1813 The Allies defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Dresden.
1861 Union troops make an amphibious landing at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
1862 As the Second Battle of Bull Run rages, Confederate soldiers attack Loudoun County, Virginia.
1881 New York state's Pure Food Law goes into effect to prevent "the adulteration of food or drugs."
1894 The United States congress passes an income tax law as part of a general tariff act, but it is found unconstitutional.
1910 Thomas Edison demonstrates the first "talking" pictures--using a phonograph--in his New Jersey laboratory.
1912 Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan of the Apes first appears in a magazine.
From Skip I read every book he ever wrote and enjoyed them all. When I was young I could never find a book of his in the Library and believe me I knew my way around a Library. Right after I got to USC I took the trolly to down town Los Angeles and there was a book store right there and I went in and found a paper back book By Edgar rice Burroughs called Tarzen of the apes. I was astounded. There was also one about John Carter of Mars. I bought them both and asked the book store owner about them. He told me that they were printing all his books and they would be coming out over the next few years. There were over 60 of them. He also told me that finding a book was very rare. All his stories were printed in a magazine that came out monthly and so each chapter had a cliff hanger at the end so you would buy the next magazine to find out what happened. I ended up many years later finding all of them and still have them. Very entertaining.
1916 Italy declares war on Germany.
1928 Fifteen nations sign the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact, outlawing war and calling for the settlement of disputes through arbitration. Forty-seven other countries eventually sign the pact.
1941 The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumimaro Konoye, issues an invitation for a meeting with President Franklin Roosevelt.
1945 B-29 Superfortress bombers begin to drop supplies into Allied prisoner of war camps in China.
1963 Cambodia severs ties with South Vietnam.
1975 Veronica & Colin Scargill of England complete tandem bicycle ride around the world, a record 18,020 miles (29,000.4 km).
1979 Lord Mountbatten is killed by an Irish terrorist bomb in his sail boat in Sligo, Ireland.
1984 President Ronald Reagan announces NASA Teacher in Space project, intended to inspire students and honor teachers and spur interest in the fields of science, mathematics and space exploration.
1989 Chuck Berry performs his tune Johnny B. Goode for NASA staff in celebration of Voyager II's encounter with the planet Neptune.
1991 Moldavia declares independence from USSR.
1993 The Rainbow Bridge, a 1,870-foot suspension bridge over Tokyo Bay, completed.
2003 Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing within 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km).
2008 Democrats nominate Barack Obama for president, first African American nominated by a major political party for the office of President of the United States.
2012 First interplanetary human voice recording is broadcast from the Mars Rover Curiosity.
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Thanks to This Day in History
1883
One of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in recorded history occurs on Krakatoa (also called Krakatau), a small, uninhabited volcanic island east of Sumatra and west of Java, on August 27, 1883. Heard 3,000 miles away—and believed to have produced the loudest sounds in human history—the explosions threw five cubic miles of earth 50 miles into the air, created 120-foot tsunamis and killed 36,000 people.
Krakatoa exhibited its first stirrings in more than 200 years on May 20, 1883. A German warship passing by reported a seven-mile high cloud of ash and dust over Krakatoa. For the next two months, similar explosions would be witnessed by commercial liners and natives on nearby Java and Sumatra. With little to no idea of the impending catastrophe, the local inhabitants greeted the volcanic activity with festive excitement.
On August 26 and August 27, excitement turned to horror as Krakatoa literally blew itself apart, setting off a chain of natural disasters that would be felt around the world for years to come. An enormous blast on the afternoon of August 26 destroyed the northern two-thirds of the island; as it plunged into the Sunda Strait, between the Java Sea and Indian Ocean, the gushing mountain generated a series of pyroclastic flows (fast-moving fluid bodies of molten gas, ash and rock) and monstrous tsunamis that swept over nearby coastlines.
Four more eruptions beginning at 5:30 a.m. the following day proved cataclysmic. The explosions could be heard as far as 3,000 miles away, and ash was propelled to a height of 50 miles. Fine dust from the explosion drifted around the earth, causing spectacular sunsets and forming an atmospheric veil that lowered temperatures worldwide by several degrees.
Of the estimated 36,000 deaths resulting from the eruption, at least 31,000 were caused by the tsunamis created when much of the island fell into the water. The greatest of these waves measured 120 feet high, and washed over nearby islands, stripping away vegetation and carrying people out to sea. Another 4,500 people were scorched to death from the pyroclastic flows that rolled over the sea, stretching as far as 40 miles, according to some sources.
In addition to Krakatoa, which is still active, Indonesia has another 130 active volcanoes, the most of any country in the world.
Probably not on the top of my vacation spots in the world today…Skip
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
August 27
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
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An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).
Thanks to Micro
From Vietnam Air Losses site for “for 27.August . .We were happy to get both of them back after the end of the war. Skip Dick was on a panel of four former POWS at last year’s Tailhook 25 and I was able to post it on The List last year thanks to Tailhook. I knew all four….
. We only lost two Phantom escorts and two RF-8s on the cruise and all made it home….skip
27-Aug: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2989
Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady’s work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend . The site works, find anyone you knew in “search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
By: Kipp Hanley
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This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
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Thanks to History Facts
The New York Philharmonic had to ask the audience not to knit during concerts.
There are few hobbies more perfectly aligned than knitting and listening to classical music. But in 1915, Americans took their zeal for needlework a bit too far, forcing the New York Philharmonic to request that its audience refrain from knitting during live musical performances.
At the time, knitting was promoted as a patriotic act to support soldiers fighting in World War I. Even though the United States didn’t officially join the war until 1917, organizations such as the American Red Cross encouraged U.S. citizens to knit warm clothing to aid in the Allied war effort. People knitted everywhere, from buses to courtrooms and even while attending shows at Carnegie Hall. However, the clacking of needles proved distracting to performers and audience members alike, prompting the New York Philharmonic to take action. A program dated February 7, 1915, stated, “the Directors respectfully request that [knitting], which interferes with the artistic enjoyment of the music, be omitted.”
Knitting was one of many ways that Americans back home supported the war effort. In 1917, future President Herbert Hoover, who was then head of the U.S. Food Administration, pondered ways to supply soldiers with heartier meals. Hoover asked Americans to participate in “Meatless Tuesdays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays,” leading to more than 10 million households pledging to use potato flour and chicken instead of wheat flour and beef. The Hoover administration later published a cookbook titled Victory Recipes of the Great War, featuring dishes such as a “camouflage roast” made of peanuts, and a lima bean “mock sausage” for “Porkless Saturday.”
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Thanks to 1440
Need To Know
Fed Board Fallout
Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook said yesterday she is filing a lawsuit to challenge her firing by President Donald Trump this week. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 says a president can fire a board member for cause; Cook’s firing marks the first termination of a governor in the bank’s 111-year history.
The central bank has a unique structure, with the Supreme Court characterizing it as a quasi-private entity. Cook is one of seven president-appointed governors and five rotating regional bank presidents who determine monetary policy. In firing Cook, Trump cited allegations that she committed mortgage fraud to reduce monthly payments for two homes.
The clash comes as Trump has long pressured the bank to lower interest rates. With the resignation of a Biden-appointed governor earlier this month, Trump could fill a majority of board seats before Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends next year.
Australia Accuses Iran
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has accused Iran of directing antisemitic arson attacks in Australia, prompting the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador and three diplomats—the nation’s first such move since World War II—and the suspension of operations at its embassy in Tehran.
The attacks targeted a kosher café in Sydney and a synagogue in Melbourne, where one person was injured. Authorities say the incidents are part of a broader pattern of antisemitic violence under investigation. Officials allege that Iranian operatives linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps concealed Tehran’s role by using intermediaries, including organized crime groups. At least two people have been charged in connection with the Melbourne attack, and one has been arrested in connection with the Sydney attack. Albanese said Australia will move to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Iran’s government denied involvement, condemning the allegations as politically motivated. Australia is home to about 120,000 Jews, including one of the largest per capita populations of Holocaust survivors outside Israel.
Happily Era After
Grammy winner Taylor Swift and Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce announced their engagement yesterday, complete with photos. The couple are credited with bridging two distinct audiences: predominantly female pop fans and male-skewing football enthusiasts.
Earlier this month, 1.3 million people tuned in to Swift's 12th studio album reveal on Kelce and his brother’s podcast—setting a record for most concurrent YouTube podcast views. Their relationship has drawn outsized attention since it began in 2023. Swift’s appearances at the 2023 regular-season NFL games correlated with a 7% viewership increase, an average of 17.9 million viewers per game—the highest since 2015. The uptick was partly driven by a record 9% rise in female viewers. The 2024 Super Bowl featuring Kelce drew a then-record 123.7 million viewers, boosted by a 24% surge in women ages 18–24.
Analysts estimate that Swift and Kelce's relationship has generated roughly $1B in publicity for the NFL. Dive deeper into Swift’s economic and cultural impact here.
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Thanks to John
My wife often comments on the “air” about me when I meet some people and not others. She says that it is an air of superiority but it isn’t. It is just a different kind of “bond” that we have. I also have deep admiration and respect for the grunts that had such hard conditions and were at the “tip of the spear."
I still have that deep admiration and respect for all of you and that’s why I am sending this email.
John
A good summation:
This sums up many of my thoughts. It isn’t that I look down or degrade those that didn’t. It is very much like the end of the quote from the St. Crispin Day speech “we happy few, we band of brothers.” The experience of landing that jet on a carrier and then the crisp salute on the catapult in the tradition of leaving the ship also makes a special bond. So this article does a good job of summing it up why I have a different “air” when meeting some men. No arrogance or conceit is intended for the other men.
Because We Flew—Author unknown
Once the wings go on, they never come off whether they can be seen or not. They fuse to the soul through adversity, fear and adrenaline, and no one who has ever worn them with pride, integrity and guts can ever sleep through the ‘call of the wild’ that wafts through the bedroom windows in the deep of the night.
When a good flyer leaves the ‘job’ and retires, many are jealous, some are pleased and yet others, who may have already retired, wonder. We wonder if he knows what he is leaving behind, because we already know. We know, for example, that after a lifetime of precious camaraderie that few experience, it will remain as a longing for those past times.
We know in the world of flying, there is a fellowship which lasts long after the flight suits are hung up in the back of the closet. We know even if he throws them away, they will be on him with every step and breath that remains in his life. We also know how the very bearing of the man speaks of what he was and in his heart still is.
Because we flew, we envy no man on earth.
AND,
On the Experience of War--Author unknown
"I now know why men who have been to war yearn to reunite. Not to tell stories or look at old pictures. Not to laugh or weep. Comrades gather because they long to be with the men who once acted at their best; men who suffered and sacrificed together, who were stripped of their humanity. I did not pick these men. They were delivered by fate and the military. But I know them in a way I know no other men.
I have never given anyone such trust. They were willing to guard something more precious than my life. They would have carried my reputation, the memory of me. It was part of the bargain we all made, the reason we were so willing to die for one another. As long as I have memory, I will think of them all, every day. I am sure that when I leave this world, my last thought will be of my family and my comrades...Such good men."
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Thanks to interesting Facts
15 Acronyms You See Every Day and Their Meanings
Some words and letters are such a familiar part of everyday life that they almost fade into the background. From markings on your electronics, food packaging, and clothes to the words you see on water bottles and inside elevators, here are the meanings behind some mysterious letters you might see every day.
UL
The letters “UL” can be found on many things, including electric plugs, heaters, smoke alarms, and personal flotation devices. UL stands for “Underwriters Laboratories,” a company that’s been conducting product safety testing for more than a century. If an item meets UL’s safety standards, it earns the right to bear a “UL” mark.
The man who founded what became UL, William Henry Merrill Jr., got the idea to set up an electrical testing laboratory after being dispatched to check fire risks at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The Underwriters Electrical Bureau was founded in 1894, and Underwriters Laboratories was incorporated in 1901. UL began offering its label service to certify products it had tested in 1906.
CE
You may have spotted a “CE” on eyeglass frames, mobile phones (or their packaging), appliances, electronics, and more. CE stands for the French phrase “Conformité Européenne,” which means “European compliance.” The CE designation indicates an item has met the standards to be sold in the European Economic Area. The certification process ensures that products in specific categories adhere to safety, health, and environmental standards. Placing CE on things isn’t required outside of Europe, but plenty of manufacturers leave the CE mark on items that are sold both in Europe and elsewhere.
FCC
Mobile phones, earbuds, television stations, and other communication devices operate on radio frequencies. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission checks to make sure these devices can function with no harmful interference. The FCC also ensures a device won’t overexpose users to radiofrequency (RF) energy, which is a type of electromagnetic radiation.
After obtaining FCC approval, manufacturers will place an FCC logo on the device and/or its packaging. At first glance, this logo can appear as if it contains just an F and a C next to each other, but a closer look will reveal there’s a second C hidden inside the first one.
OTIS
Maybe you study the insides of elevators to have something to do during your ascent or descent, or perhaps you get nervous and read every bit of elevator signage in search of reassurance it’s working properly. If so, you’ve likely seen “OTIS” emblazoned on an elevator’s floor, control panel, or elsewhere. This isn’t an acronym or abbreviation — OTIS refers to the Otis Elevator Company.
In the 1830s and ’40s, passengers regularly died in elevators when lifting cables broke. Inventor Elisha Graves Otis created an elevator safety brake, and in 1853, showed off his invention at New York City’s Crystal Palace Convention by ascending on an open platform, cutting the hoisting rope with an ax, and not falling thanks to the safety brake. Four years later, E.V. Haughwout and Company’s department store in Manhattan became the first business to use elevators equipped with this special brake.
After the Otis Elevator Company was founded in 1853 and Otis patented his invention in 1861, Otis elevators helped transform cities. Today, the company continues to make elevators with the name “Otis” displayed inside. The safety mechanisms in present-day elevators even stick to the same basic engineering principles that Otis originally used.
OU
People who don’t keep kosher may have seen the letter “U” inside a circle on some food items and not have known this indicated the item was processed according to Jewish dietary laws. This letter “U” is actually inside an “O,” not a circle; “OU” stands for “Orthodox Union Kosher.” Some products may be marked with “OU-D” to indicate that they contain dairy or were made on equipment that handled dairy. “OU-P” tells people an item is kosher for Passover.
“OU” isn’t the only way to signal that a food item is Kosher. A “K” inside a circle or a star are other well-known marks for kosher foods.
PET
You can find the letters “PET” on many plastic bottles, including most of the ones that hold beverages. PET is an acronym for the plastic “polyethylene terephthalate,” which is part of the polyester family of polymers.
Above the word “PET” on these bottles, you’ll also usually see a 1 in a triangle made up of arrows. This is a recycling code. PET bottles can successfully be recycled, so make sure to do this instead of throwing yours away.
USB
USB is such a familiar term that you may not be aware it’s an acronym for “universal serial bus.” USB really did live up to the “universal” part of its name. Before USB, serial ports, parallel ports, and more were used to connect external devices like keyboards, mice, and printers. USB made it possible for these different devices to hook up to computers via the same connection.
USB technology was developed by a group of American businesses, notably Intel, and first became available in 1996. When Apple’s iMac came out in 1998, it was a USB-only computer. USB is still popular today, as are USB-C ports on phones, tablets, and certain computers.
YKK
Zippers are part of our daily lives, whether on our jeans, coats, or bags, and as long as they work, they usually don’t receive intense scrutiny. However, a closer look at various zippers will likely reveal that many of them are inscribed with the letters “YKK.”
YKK stands for “Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha,” which roughly translates to “Yoshida Manufacturing Shareholding Company.” This company, founded in 1934, uses its own brass, polyester, threads, and even zipper machines. By controlling so much of the process, YKK can deliver high-quality zippers. The company also sells these zippers at reasonable prices. The combination has made YKK a go-to in the garment industry — and explains why half of the world’s zippers have YKK zippers.
QR
QR codes are those pixelated-looking black-and-white squares that you can scan with your phone for more information about something, whether it’s an advertisement or a piece of art. They’ve become ubiquitous, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic popularized contactless menus and payment. However, they’re very rarely called by their full name.
“QR” actually stands for “quick response,” and the codes can be used to share far more than a link. If you wanted to, you could share an entire book with one code. The technology was first developed by a Toyota subsidiary in the mid-’90s as a way to track auto parts, but QR codes found new life as a way to direct smartphone users from a physical space to a digital one. They used to require a special reader, but nowadays, most smartphone camera apps will read QR codes on their own.
UPC
You’ve probably noticed a UPC while out shopping, especially if you use self-checkout. It stands for “universal product code.” UPCs have two parts, both of which communicate information to a computer: a barcode, and a 12-digit product code called a Global Trade Item Number, or GTIN.
A product’s GTIN includes a company code for the manufacturer and a product code for the item itself. Manufacturers have to buy each individual code from GS1, a nonprofit industry group that tracks everything. Because all GTIN numbers are 12 digits, companies with a lot of products need shorter company codes to accommodate larger product numbers.
SKU
You’ll most commonly see “SKU” in online shopping carts, but occasionally someone will use it as a synonym for “product.” It stands for “stock keeping unit,” and like UPCs, it keeps track of products for sale. Unlike UPCs, which are universal across different companies, a SKU refers to an inventory item internally within one company. Because it’s for internal tracking and not outside purchases, it can be whatever the company wants, but unique SKUs help sellers be more precise about what products they’re stocking, selling, and shipping. In your shopping cart, a SKU identifies the exact color, size, and model of what you’re buying.
PVC
If you’re a crafter or handyperson, you’ve probably come across PVC pipe. Typically, it’s used in water systems from home plumbing to city utilities, but clever DIYers have used it for everything from storage to cosplay, because it’s waterproof, sturdy, durable, and cheap. PVC stands for “polyvinyl chloride.” One of the most-used plastics in the world, it’s also found in insulation, clothing, hoses, toys, and pretty much anywhere that plastic is found.
VR and AR
You’ve probably seen the terms “VR” and “AR” in arcades, science fiction, and buzzy new technology products. VR stands for “virtual reality,” and refers to an environment that’s entirely simulated. Some gamers use VR headsets to immerse themselves fully in a video game with a full, 360-degree view of a digital world. The tech can also be used to view specially made videos and photography.
AR, or “augmented reality,” adds simulated digital elements to the actual world around you. If you’ve played Pokemon Go — which superimposes Pokemon characters and other game elements on top of your surroundings using a smartphone camera — you’ve experienced an augmented reality application. Live translation apps, which use a smartphone camera to translate text in real time, are another example of AR.
GIF
GIF images — that’s Graphics Interchange Format — have been used for more than three decades, although these days they’re mostly used for brief animations. The format was invented in 1987 by the CompuServe internet service provider, and once upon a time it was often used for still images. Because it uses limited colors, it kept file sizes low, which was especially critical when internet speeds were much slower, and it allowed images to have transparent elements, which helped with web design. Most computers and connections can handle bigger file sizes now, and higher-quality formats allow transparency without being prohibitively large — but even today, nothing handles a short clip quite like a GIF.
PU
You may have seen “PU” a lot recently to describe PU leather, a material used to create clothing, accessories, and upholstery. PU stands for polyurethane, a kind of artificial material commonly used in spandex. You also might have seen this acronym in PU foam, which has wide applications from crafting to home repair.
PU leather is a more specific kind of “pleather” or faux leather, which can also be made out of PVC — although PU leather is generally considered to be higher quality and more eco-friendly. It can be vegan, but sometimes includes elements of real leather, too.
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From the archives
Thanks to Dr.Rich this brings up a lot of questions like where and when..skip
AI me thinks … or with Su-27’s at Dryden…
Sent from Rich’s iPhone - Please pardon any iSpell errors!
On Aug 26, 2024, at 8:55 PM, Ed Rathje wrote:
who's taking the video ?????
or is this fake AI ?? still very cool!
I don't think SR-71 ever flew this slow or this close to enemy aircraft.
Russian Su-27 fighter jets attempt to intimidate a USAF SR-71 Blackbird.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/skLu7ZwlRa8
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This Day in U S Military History
August 27
1859 – Edwin Drake struck oil at 69 feet near Titusville, Pennsylvania–the world’s first successful oil well. This source of crude oil, or petroleum, opened up a new inexpensive source of power and quickly replaced whale oil in lamps. Within a few decades of Drake’s discovery, oil drilling was widespread in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the East Indies. However, it was the development of the automobile that catapulted petroleum into a position of paramount importance, for petroleum is the primary source of gasoline. Asphalt, also derived from petroleum, is used to surface roads and highways.
1861 – Union ships sail into North Carolina’s Hatteras Inlet, beginning a two-day operation that secures the area for the Federals and denies the Confederates an important outlet to the Atlantic. The Outer Banks is a series of long, narrow islands that separate Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic, with Hatteras Inlet as the only deep-water passage connecting the two. In the first few months of the war, the Outer Banks were a haven for Confederate blockade runners and raiders. During the summer of 1861, one Rebel ship, the Winslow, wreaked havoc on Union shipping off North Carolina, and Federal naval and army officials mounted a combined operation to neutralize the area. To protect the passage, the Confederates erected two fortresses of sand and wood, garrisoned by 350 soldiers. Eight Union warships and 800 troops under the command of Commodore Silas Stringham and General Benjamin Butler anchored off Cape Hatteras on August 27. Butler’s men slogged ashore the next day with wet powder, hardly in shape to attack a fortified position. Fortunately for the Yankee infantry, the squadron off shore began a devastating bombardment that forced the Confederates to abandon one of the strongholds, Fort Clark. The Confederates gathered inside of the larger Fort Hatteras, but the shelling from the Union ships was more than the garrison could stand. The force surrendered on August 29. The capture of Cape Hatteras was an important victory for the Union, especially after the disaster at Bull Run one month earlier. It also gave the Union a toehold on the North Carolina coast, and it sealed an important outlet to the Atlantic.
1901 – In Havana, Cuba, U.S. Army physician James Carroll allowed an infected mosquito to feed on him in an attempt to isolate the means of transmission of yellow fever. Days later, Carroll developed a severe case of yellow fever, helping his colleague, Army Walter Reed, prove that mosquitoes can transmit the sometimes deadly disease
1918 – The Battle of Ambos Nogales (lit. “The Battle of Both Nogales”), or as it is known in Mexico La batalla del 27 de agosto (lit. “The Battle of 27 August”), was an engagement fought between Mexican forces and elements of United States Army soldiers of the 35th Infantry Regiment, who were reinforced by the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, and commanded by Lt. Col. Frederick J. Herman. The American soldiers and militia forces were stationed in Nogales, Arizona and the Mexican soldiers and armed Mexican militia were in Nogales, Sonora. This battle was notable for being a significant confrontation between U.S. and Mexican forces during the Border War which took place in the context of the Mexican Revolution and the First World War. This occurred after the Zimmermann Telegram during World War I when the international border between the two Nogales was a wide open boulevard named International Street. There had been several previous fatal incidents in this area which helped increase international tensions and leading to armed conflict. This included the claim of German military advisors as agitators with Mexican Villa rebels, claims of racism and border politics. As a result of this battle, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to divide the two border communities with a chain-link border fence, the first of many permanent incarnations of the U.S.–Mexico border wall between the two countries.
1945 – The Allied fleets anchor in Sagami (Tokyo) Bay within sight of Mount Fujiyama. Admiral Halsey, commander of the US 3rd Fleet, is present for what is probably the greatest display of naval might in history. The armada includes 23 aircraft carriers, 12 battleships, 26 cruisers, 116 destroyers and escorts, 12 submarines and 185 other vessels. In addition to the American and British ships, there are ships from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands represented.
1972 – In the heaviest bombing in four years, U.S. aircraft flatten North Vietnamese barracks near Hanoi and Haiphong as part of ongoing Operation Linebacker I, part of President Nixon’s response to the NVA Easter Offensive. Planes also hit bridges on the northeast railroad line to China. In an associated action, four U.S. ships raided the Haiphong port area after dark, shelling to within two miles of the city limits. As the U.S. ships withdrew from the area, the cruiser USS Newport News sank one of two North Vietnamese patrol boats in pursuit, and destroyer USS Rowan set the other on fire.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BROWN, JAMES
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company F, 5th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Davidson Canyon near Camp Crittenden, Ariz., 27 August 1872. Entered service at:——. Birth: Wexford, Ireland. Date of issue: 4 December 1874. Citation: In command of a detachment of 4 men defeated a superior force.
GREGG, STEPHEN R.
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 143d Infantry, 36th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Montelimar, France, 27 August 1944. Entered service at: Bayonne, N.J. Birth: New York, N.Y. G.O. No.: 31, 17 April 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 27 August 1944, in the vicinity of Montelimar, France. As his platoon advanced upon the enemy positions; the leading scout was fired upon and 2d Lt. Gregg (then a Tech. Sgt.) immediately put his machineguns into action to cover the advance of the riflemen. The Germans, who were at close range, threw hand grenades at the riflemen, killing some and wounding 7. Each time a medical aid man attempted to reach the wounded, the Germans fired at him. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, 2d Lt. Gregg took 1 of the light .30-caliber machineguns, and firing from the hip, started boldly up the hill with the medical aid man following him. Although the enemy was throwing hand grenades at him, 2d Lt. Gregg remained and fired into the enemy positions while the medical aid man removed the 7 wounded men to safety. When 2d Lt. Gregg had expended all his ammunition, he was covered by 4 Germans who ordered him to surrender. Since the attention of most of the Germans had been diverted by watching this action, friendly riflemen were able to maneuver into firing positions. One, seeing 2d Lt. Gregg’s situation, opened fire on his captors. The 4 Germans hit the ground and thereupon 2d Lt. Gregg recovered a machine pistol from one of the Germans and managed to escape to his other machinegun positions. He manned a gun, firing at his captors, killed 1 of them and wounded the other. This action so discouraged the Germans that the platoon was able to continue its advance up the hill to achieve its objective. The following morning, just prior to daybreak, the Germans launched a strong attack, supported by tanks, in an attempt to drive Company L from the hill. As these tanks moved along the valley and their foot troops advanced up the hill, 2d Lt. Gregg immediately ordered his mortars into action. During the day by careful observation, he was able to direct effective fire on the enemy, inflicting heavy casualties. By late afternoon he had directed 600 rounds when his communication to the mortars was knocked out. Without hesitation he started checking his wires, although the area was under heavy enemy small arms and artillery fire. When he was within 100 yards of his mortar position, 1 of his men informed him that the section had been captured and the Germans were using the mortars to fire on the company. 2d Lt. Gregg with this man and another nearby rifleman started for the gun position where he could see 5 Germans firing his mortars. He ordered the 2 men to cover him, crawled up, threw a hand grenade into the position, and then charged it. The hand grenade killed 1, injured 2, 2d Lt. Gregg took the other 2 prisoners, and put his mortars back into action.
*HARTELL, LEE R.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Battery A, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Kobangsan-ni, Korea, 27 August 1951. Entered service at: Danbury, Conn. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. G.O. No.: 16, 1 February 1952. Citation: 1st. Lt. Hartell, a member of Battery A, 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. During the darkness of early morning, the enemy launched a ruthless attack against friendly positions on a rugged mountainous ridge. 1st Lt. Hartell, attached to Company B, 9th Infantry Regiment, as forward observer, quickly moved his radio to an exposed vantage on the ridge line to adjust defensive fires. Realizing the tactical advantage of illuminating the area of approach, he called for flares and then directed crippling fire into the onrushing assailants. At this juncture a large force of hostile troops swarmed up the slope in banzai charge and came within 10 yards of 1st Lt. Hartell’s position. 1st Lt. Hartell sustained a severe hand wound in the ensuing encounter but grasped the microphone with his other hand and maintained his magnificent stand until the front and left flank of the company were protected by a close-in wall of withering fire, causing the fanatical foe to disperse and fall back momentarily. After the numerically superior enemy overran an outpost and was closing on his position, 1st Lt. Hartell, in a final radio call, urged the friendly elements to fire both batteries continuously. Although mortally wounded, 1st Lt. Hartell’s intrepid actions contributed significantly to stemming the onslaught and enabled his company to maintain the strategic strongpoint. His consummate valor and unwavering devotion to duty reflect lasting glory on himself and uphold the noble traditions of the military service.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 27, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
27 August
1923: At Rockwell Field, San Diego, Lts Lowell H. Smith and John P. Richter used a DH-4B Liberty 400 to set FAI refueled duration and distance records of 37 hours 15 minutes 14.8 seconds and 3,293.26 miles, respectively. They also set FAI speed records of 88 plus MPH for all distances from 2,500 through 5,000 kilometers during their two-day flight.
1926: Cmdr John Rodgers, Naval Aviator No. 2, died of injuries received in a airplane crash. (9)
1929: Through 4 September 1929, the Army Air Corps and Boeing Airplane Company, collaborated on the first air-to-air refueling experiment, using the Boeing Hornet Shuttle for a transcontinental flight. It was a Model 95 mail with additional fuel tanks and other alterations. The airplane flew between Oakland and New York, following what was then the longest mail route in the world. Capt Ira C. Eaker proposed this experiment as a means to investigate the potential of cross-country air refueling for military operations and flew the aircraft with Lt Bernard Thompson. Two modified Boeing 40B-4s, piloted by Boeing personnel, and two modified Army Air Corps Douglas C-1s, piloted by Capt St Clair Streett and Lt Newton Longfellow, provided the air refueling. The flight east to New York took 28 hours and 25 minutes. On the return leg, a five-gallon oil can fell from the refueling aircraft onto the Boeing Hornet Shuttle. The resulting damage forced the airplane to land at Cleveland, Ohio, and return to New York City for repairs. Airborne once more, the Boeing Hornet Shuttle flew back to Oakland. The aircraft attempted another flight east, but problems with the fuel line led to a forced landing near Salt Lake City, Utah, that damaged the aircraft and ended the experiment. (18)
1941: William R. Dunn, 71 Squadron (RAF), shot down his fifth enemy plane to become the first American "Ace" in Europe. He served in Europe, Burma, and China, and ended the war with 15 aerial victories and credit for 12 destroyed on the ground. (4)
1943: Ten SB-24’s (“Snoopers”), with special radar sighting devices to make accurate bombing possible, irrespective of visual sightings, began operations from Carney Field, Guadalcanal. (24)
1945: B-29s completed their first supply drop operation to Allied POWs in the Weihsien camp near Peiping (now Beijing), China. In all, 154 camps with 63,500 prisoners in Japan, China, and Korea, got food, medical supplies, and clothing. (24)
1950: KOREAN WAR. Two F-51 Mustang pilots accidentally strayed into China and strafed an airstrip near Antung, mistaking it for a N. Korean airstrip at Sinuiju on the border with China. The Chinese used the incident for propaganda and diplomatic purposes. The 92th BG sent 24 B-29s to Kyomipo to bomb the largest iron and steel plant in Korea. FEAF experimented with delayed action bombs to discourage enemy repairs on bridges. (28)
1953: The Snark subsonic intercontinental missile first flew.
1956: Douglas Airplane Company fired the Thor missile in a captive test at the Edwards AFB Rocket Engine Test Laboratory. (3)
1958: PROJECT ARGUS. On 27 and 30 August and 6 September, the US Navy launched three multistage rockets from the USS Norton Sound in the South Atlantic. Each rocket carried a low-yield atomic device that detonated at an altitude of 300 miles. (16) (24)
1959: The USS Observation Island launched a Polaris missile in its first successful launching at sea. (16) (24)
1960: A test of mobile Minuteman missiles deployed on trains ended at Hill AFB satisfactorily. (6)
1962: NASA launched an Atlas-Agena booster, carrying the Mariner II satellite, from Cape Canaveral on a journey to orbit the sun. (16) (21)
1964: SAC conducted its last Atlas E test launch from Vandenberg AFB. The launch supported the Army's Nike-Zeus program. (6)
1966: A C–133 carried the shaft and propeller of the USS Coral Sea from Travis AFB to Atsugi NAS, Japan, in 24 hours. The 63-foot-long shaft weighed 75,400 pounds and was to date the largest single load ever lifted. (18)
1970: The Air Force canceled the AIM-82A Short Range Missile for the F-15. (30)
1986: Through 29 August, a C-130 Hercules from the 50 TAS flew 250 tents to help 2,000 villagers in North Western Cameroon after a carbon dioxide cloud bubbled out of Lake Nyos. (16) (26)
1987: Morton Thiokol first the Space Shuttle's redesigned solid rocket motor at the Wasatch facility. The motor underwent a two-minute, full-duration horizontal firing test. The USAF and NASA selected Pratt and Whitney and Rockwell International to design supersonic ramjet engines for the proposed National Aerospace Plane. (12)
1990: Northrop pilot Paul Metz flew the YF-23 for the first time above Edwards AFB. (20)
2003: A NASA Dryden Flight Research Center team flew several Navy F-5E sorties to support the Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) program. The DARPA project tried to determine if modifying an aircraft’s shape could change the sonic boom to reduce loudness. (3)
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Melissa Brodsky
Aug 2
The Lioness Writes
Philadelphia, 1802.
A ten-year-old boy named Uriah Phillips Levy walked out of his house, went down to the docks, and signed on as a cabin boy on a trading ship.
His family was Sephardic Jewish, descended from Jews who had fled the Spanish Inquisition centuries earlier. His grandfather Jonas Phillips had come to America from Germany in 1756 and fought against the British in the Revolution. His great-great-grandfather on his mother’s side had been one of the original Jewish settlers of Savannah, Georgia in 1733. The family had been in America before America was America.
None of that stopped Uriah from wanting to be at sea.
He came home three years later for one reason. He had a bar mitzvah to attend. His own. He celebrated it at Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia in 1805, the oldest Jewish congregation in America. Then he went straight back to sea.
By his early twenties he had worked his way up from cabin boy to master and owner of his own vessels in the merchant marine. In 1812, when Britain and America went to war again, he joined the United States Navy as a sailing master. He fought in the Barbary Wars. He fought in the War of 1812 aboard the USS Argus. He was captured by the British and held as a prisoner of war for sixteen months.
He came back and kept going.
What followed was one of the most remarkable and punishing careers in the history of the United States Navy. Levy rose steadily through the ranks. He was also court-martialed six times.
Six.
The charges ranged from legitimate disciplinary disputes to accusations so transparently antisemitic that even his contemporaries noted the pattern. His fellow officers called him a Jew to his face. They questioned whether a man of his religion had any business commanding American sailors. They used every procedural mechanism available to them to push him out. He was dismissed from the Navy twice.
Both times he fought back. He appeared before every board, filed every appeal, hired lawyers, wrote letters, documented everything. He believed, and said so plainly, that he was fighting not just for himself but for every Jewish American who might want to serve their country after him.
He also fought a duel. He killed his opponent.
He kept serving.
In 1855, the Navy convened a special court of inquiry to review the cases of officers who had been dismissed. Levy appeared and delivered a speech defending his record that became one of the most celebrated statements on religious freedom and military service in American history.
“I am an American, a sailor, and a Jew,” he told the court. “My parents were Israelites, and I was nurtured in the faith of my ancestors. In deciding to adhere to it, I have but exercised a right guaranteed to me by the Constitution of my native State, and of the United States, a right given to all men by their Maker. I place before you the sacrifices I have made and the struggles I have maintained, not for the purpose of gaining your sympathy, but to show that I have not been an idler or a coward.”
He was reinstated. Within four months he was promoted to Commodore, the highest rank in the Navy at the time, and placed in command of the entire Mediterranean fleet.
The Navy later appointed him to head its Court Martial Board.
Uriah Levy, court-martialed six times, now presided over the court that had tried to destroy him.
He had also been doing something else with his time and his money.
Thomas Jefferson had died in 1826 drowning in debt. Monticello, his beloved estate in Virginia, had been sold off to pay his creditors and had fallen into serious disrepair. Levy, who admired Jefferson specifically for his championing of religious liberty, including the freedom of Jews to participate fully in American life, found this intolerable.
In 1834 he bought Monticello.
He spent his own money restoring it. He opened it to the public. He commissioned a full-length statue of Jefferson and donated it to the United States government. It stands today in the rotunda of the Capitol building in Washington.
He also spent years campaigning against flogging in the United States Navy. He considered it barbaric, said so repeatedly in official correspondence, and pushed for its abolition until Congress finally banned it. The law passed the year he died.
He died on March 22, 1862, and received a traditional Jewish funeral with full military honors. He had no children. He left Monticello to the United States government in his will, with instructions that if the government wouldn’t take it, it should go to the Commonwealth of Virginia, and if Virginia refused, it should go to the three Sephardic synagogues of Philadelphia, New York, and Newport, to be used as a school for children of all faiths.
Monticello passed to his nephew Jefferson Monroe Levy, who held it until 1923, when the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation finally purchased it for $500,000. The house that Jefferson built, that America forgot, that a Jewish Navy commodore saved, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited by half a million people a year.
A World War II destroyer escort was named the USS Levy in his honor. It earned five battle stars in the Pacific.
The Jewish chapel at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis is named for him too.
The boy who left home at ten and came back at thirteen for his bar mitzvah. The officer court-martialed six times who ended up running the court. The man who saved Jefferson’s house because Jefferson believed that a man’s religion shouldn’t disqualify him from anything.
Uriah Phillips Levy agreed.
He spent his whole life proving it.
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It eas written to a family member which is why some terms are explained.
My second "Department Head cruise" resulted from the iranians taking our embassy and the hostages. USS Independence went around Cape Town, RSA to the northern Indian Ocean.
One day I was launched to a CAP station 200 miles NW from "Indy". This was very unusual. The station was near Bandar Abbas, the southernmost IAF F-14 airbase. I had two "war shot Sidewinders" and two "war shot Sparrows". Our radar actually functioned!
The Anti-Air Warfare, AAW, commander, normally a two star admiral, must have been very pleased because we were informed by the AAW cruiser that we would be "double cycled". This means that we would not return to 'Mother' and land- for FUEL. LOTS of gas would be brought to us. Same amount for my wingman; who did not have a functioning radar.
When the normal departure time to return to Mother arrived, the cruiser told us to "stay on station" and that 2 tankers were on the way. When the first arrived, we were informed that the other was not coming due to a severe maintenance problem. We joined on the tanker and awaited the refueling basket (with attached long hose) to be run out, aka 'streamed'. The small lights on the tanker informed us that the "package was sweet". Liar, liar. I went into position to plug and did so on the first attempt. The green light went out and the red light illuminated. We were told to back out and the package would by cycled. [wound all the way into the normal minimal drag position and then re-streamed.] It was and the green light re-illuminated. So I plugged for the second time. Result- red light, and not a drop of gas. We were again told to back out and they'd recycle the package again. The hose and basket went it and the red light stayed illuminated. Not good.
We were informed that the package 'had died'. The AAW cruiser hears all of this and shortly transmit that a second tanker is on the way. We wait. And wait some more.
We hear the AAW cruise talking to the second tanker, so it is 'on the way'. My Phantom has less gas than the wingman because I had "tanked" twice, which uses more fuel than just orbiting on a CAP station. I requested from our AAW controller to point at the tanker so as to minimize the time for the now needed fuel. The cruiser vectored us to the approaching tanker and I used his known arrival speed and angles to effect a rapid join-up. He 'streamed' the basket and I watched it go by my wing at 250 MPH. Some slight terror now in my voice.
I requested that the AAW cruiser demand 2 tankers as quickly as possible. Told the less-than-comforting, "Wait one." One became ten. The controller transmitted that we were "released" and to return to Marshal for recovery. Both fighters switched to the frequency for Marshal (carrier air traffic initial control) and checked in. When that happens, the Marshal Air Traffic Controller always states the Altimeter, recovery course, expected approach time and the weather. The weather was absolutely horrid. Then he told us to "Buster". My RIO and I broke out laughing in our cockpit. I told the controller I could not "Buster" for 10 miles, let alone 200. We heard the wondrous and comforting, "Wait one."
When the controller talked to us again, he informed us that we would receive radar vectors to the final approach heading. (This meant that the recovery was complete and thus no need to go to Marshal, aka Holding.) Both pilots were told to give their fuel state. We did. Resulting in a third, "Wait one". We were then switched to the Carrier Air Traffic Control Center, aka CATCC, the precision radar controllers. And given separate controllers. We were first as the wingman didn't go to either the first nor the second tanker. The two CATCC final controllers did a masterful job of placing each Phantom on the final bearing. Our fuel gauge looked frightening. I broke out of the clouds at 200' above the Indian Ocean. Sadly, the ship had suffered a failed main gyro system and I was looking at the starboard side gun tub of Indy. Some swear words were forcefully stated.
I decided to disregard some basic rules for flying around a carrier. I climbed to only 450', vice 1200, as Indy had entered a small weather 'hole'. So I flew a day VFR, known as Case I, to return to the glide slope VISUALLY. {Since you almost for certain did not fly the Phantom, here are some fun fuel facts. A Case III circuit, night time or poor weather, consumes about 1100 pounds of fuel. We had 1,000 lbs. A day visual pattern consumes 400 to 600 pounds.}
Mother Nature was not angry with me and I was able to see Indy the entire circular pattern. As I was approaching the wake, an A-7 came out of the goo to land. I told him to wave off, at which time the Air Boss said we'll get both of you." I knew that the arresting gear could not be retracted and reset for the much heavier Phantom in time. So I transmitted to the A-7, "Depart. Or you get a Sidewinder". He did.
I 'trapped' and could barely taxi as my knees were shaking so violently. As I shut down the engines, my RIO stated, "Look down on the left side. We have company." I did look, and saw the Marine Sargent of the Guard. With an M-16! When we climbed down the boarding ladder, he said, "Just you, Sir, the RIO can go to squadron spaces."
The SoG escorted me to Admiral's Country. I knocked on the Admiral's door and announced who I was. He barked, "ENTER!" I did, to which he forcefully stated, "Close the door. Thank you, Sargent". I knew I was in massive trouble.
After I closed the door, he said, "Rob, do you want some coffee? Have a seat." Now I was truly and utterly confused.
The Admiral asked if I knew how much fuel I trapped with. I replied, "No, sir." He told me, "90 gallons". (That is what the 2 engines will consume going from landing power to take off power had we missed a wire.)
He said, "I'm not angry with you. I just can't have my fighter pilots threatening to shoot down an A-7. Good job."
Burner
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F-4Cs Phantom HI ANG with a KC-135 “Waterwaggon” near Honolulu. March 1979
Check 6!
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