To All.
Good Saturday morning April 4, 2026.The weather is great this morning and is supposed to get to 85 by 2..Looks like both f-15 pilots were rescued. Maybe an A-10 lost in the process
Warm Regards,
skip
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 94 H-Grams
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
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1776 Continental Navy Frigate Columbus captures the British schooner HMS Hawk, making the first American capture of a British armed vessel. Columbus later captures the British brig Bolton.
1854 - American and British naval brigades of 90 and 150 men engage Chinese Imperial troops at Shanghai after acts of aggression against American and British citizens. The American party fell under the command of Cmdr. J. Kelly, the commanding officer of USS Plymouth.
1933 USS Akron (ZRS-4)crashes tail-first into the sea due to a violent storm coming off the New Jersey coast, killing Rear Adm. William A. Moffett, Medal of Honor recipient and the first Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, along with 75 others. Only three survive.
1943 USS Porpoise (SS 172) sinks the Japanese whaling ship Koa Maru near Eniwetok.
1949 The North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The treaty promotes peace, stability, and well-being in the North Atlantic area with a collective defense effort.
1981 USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29) is launched and commissioned the following year. She is named in honor of Ensign Groves for "fearlessly plunging into aerial combat against large formations of enemy aircraft threatening the American carriers in the Battle of Midway."
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This Day in World History
April 4
527 In Constantinople, Justin, seriously ill, crowns his nephew Justinian as his co-emperor.
1581 Francis Drake completes circumnavigation of the world.
1812 The territory of Orleans becomes the 18th state and will become known as Louisiana.
1818 The United States flag is declared to have 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars.
1841 President William Henry Harrison, aged 68, becomes the first president to die in office, just a month after being sworn in.
1862 The Battle of Yorktown begins as Union gen. George B. McClellan closes in on Richmond, Va.
1917 The U.S. Senate votes 90-6 to enter World War I on Allied side.
1918 The Battle of the Somme ends.
1941 Field Marshal Erwin Rommel captures the British held town of Benghazi in North Africa.
1949 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty is signed.
1968 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
1974 Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth's home-run record.
1979 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the president of Pakistan is executed.
1985 A coup in Sudan ousts President Nimeiry and replaces him with General Dahab.
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
April 4
Hello All,
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage
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
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Thanks to Micro
From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..April 4 . .
April 4: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2724
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
The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
By: Kipp Hanley
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Thanks to 1440
. One Big Headline
Iran Hits US Airpower
Iran yesterday shot down two US aircraft in separate incidents, the first such losses in roughly five weeks of war. As of this writing, a search-and-rescue operation is underway for at least one missing crew member. ..
Two helicopters involved in the rescue effort were also hit by Iranian fire that wounded US personnel on board, but the aircraft safely returned to a US base. The US is racing against Iran's offer to reward any civilian who turns over an "enemy pilot." Iran is also continuing to strike American and Israeli allies in the Persian Gulf, with Kuwait reporting an Iranian strike on a power and water plant yesterday; Iran says Israel is responsible. That infrastructure strike comes after the US struck a highway bridge near Tehran Thursday, reportedly killing eight people.
Meanwhile, the White House is seeking $1.5T in defense spending from Congress for the 2027 fiscal year, the most in modern US history. Nondefense spending would be cut by 10%, shifting some responsibilities to local and state governments.
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.Quick Hits
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US economy adds 178,000 jobs in March, defying expectations.
The hiring market rebounded from the loss of 133,000 jobs in February, according to a Labor Department report published yesterday. That figure is roughly three times what economists had forecast, with the healthcare sector responsible for much of the growth. The unemployment rate also dipped to 4.3% last month, down from 4.4% in February.
NASA shares first images from Artemis II.
One image, taken by mission commander Reid Wiseman, shows a partial view of Earth through a window on the Orion capsule. Another shows Earth in full, with green streaks of aurora, produced when oxygen is excited by electrons. The four-person crew broke free of Earth's orbit Thursday en route to the moon; track their progress in real time here.
US returns suspected drug smuggler to China in rare extradition.
The move, reported yesterday by China's state news agency, marks the first such exchange of a suspected criminal in recent years. It comes ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to China in May. Trump imposed tariffs last year to press Beijing to curb exports of chemicals used to make fentanyl, the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the US.
Separately, Cuba is pardoning 2,010 prisoners, possibly to appease the Trump administration, which has imposed an effective oil blockade to push political and economic reforms. The prisoners' charges were not clear as of this writing.
Myanmar's coup leader is selected as president by pro-military parliament.
General Min Aung Hlaing has effectively led the Southeast Asian country since a 2021 coup that ousted its democratically elected government and launched a civil war. His appointment follows a landslide victory by a pro-military party earlier this year in the first parliamentary elections since the coup—elections the United Nations has called a sham. (Get background on the conflict in Myanmar here.)
Gucci Mane allegedly kidnapped, held at gunpoint by fellow rappers.
The Justice Department has charged nine people, including rappers Pooh Shiesty and Big30, in connection with an ambush at a Dallas music studio in January. Pooh Shiesty allegedly forced Gucci Mane—whose real name is Radric Davis—to sign paperwork releasing him from a record label contract, while others robbed Davis' entourage at gunpoint. If convicted, each defendant faces up to life in prison.
Fossils discovered in China rewrite evolutionary timeline.
Complex animals that ventured onto land—ancestors of humans and modern animals—were roaming Earth at least 4 million years earlier than previously thought, according to a study published this week. The finding is based on an analysis of over 700 fossils found in southwest China, many of which had near-symmetrical left and right sides—a hallmark feature of most animal life today.
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Thanks to Michael
Cool 10 Minute Clip - Could even be a USN puff piece! But fun to watch...
https://youtu.be/TAX7UjO3A0E?si=1B-RA6QxCte52K88...
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Thanks to Dr. Rich
The Dreaded Phone Call
My boss phoned me today. He said, "Is everything okay at the office?"
I said, "Yes, it's all under control. It's been a very busy day, I haven't stopped."
He asked.. "Can you do me a favor?"
I said, "Of course, what is it?"
Speed it up a little, I'm in the foursome behind you.!!!!!
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. Thanks to Interesting Facts
7 Contributions From Indigenous Nations That Changed America
The human history of the United States begins with Native Americans. After stewarding the land for generations, Indigenous peoples introduced Europeans to "new food plants, new drugs, new dyes, tobacco, unheard-of languages, novel modes of life," and much more, as the historian A. Irving Hallowell wrote back in 1957. Here's a look at just a few of the ways Indigenous peoples impacted American culture.
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Powhatan and Patuxet: Aided in the Survival of Early Settlers
The survival of America's first white settlements hinged on the knowledge of the native population. The settlers at Jamestown would have likely perished during the brutal winter of 1609-1610 were it not for the help of Powhatan captives, who managed 40 acres of maize. The same was true of the Mayflower pilgrims in Massachusetts, who learned how to plant corn thanks to the teachings of the famed Patuxent interpreter, Squanto. The settlers, however, did not return the favor, and continued to take more and more of the natives' land.
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Iroquois: Influenced Federal Power
Today, students are often taught that American democracy has its roots in ancient Rome or Greece. But the American republic also took cues from the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Philosophers like John Locke, whose writings influenced the creation of the United States, wrote with amazement about how the Iroquois Confederacy vested power in people, not a monarch. Meanwhile, Benjamin Franklin wrote letters to the Iroqouis, seemingly calling out how people incorrectly viewed them as "ignorant savages," and spent significant time learning about their federal-style government. In 1751, Franklin wrote, "It would be a strange thing if Six Nations of ignorant savages should be capable of forming a scheme for such an union, and be able to execute it in such a manner as that it has subsisted ages and appears indissoluble; and yet that a like union should be impracticable for ten or a dozen English colonies."
The idea that the American republic was influenced by the Iroquois can be polarizing, and is often over- or understated. Some argue that American democracy was copy-and-pasted from the Six Nations. Others argue that the Iroqouis had no influence at all. Most historians, however, occupy a middle ground. "It is a fairly important idea that a great many societies and networks influenced American constitutional thought, the Iroquois among them," historian Gautham Rao tells Politifact.
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Pima: Developed Farm Irrigation
Without water, there can be no agriculture — and no civilization, for that matter. The Pima understood this challenge intimately. Around 1,500 to 2,000 years ago, the nation developed sophisticated irrigation systems across the arid deserts of Arizona, making the region habitable. (And establishing life in what is now Phoenix.) Those technologies paid off. Today, agriculture first cultivated by Native Americans makes up 60% of the world's food supply, including pumpkins, cranberries, squash, pineapple, avocados, peanuts, and, of course, corn.
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Plains Indians: Initiated Early Sign Language
Native Americans communicated through sign language centuries before the development of ASL. First recorded in the 1520s, the system — now called Plains Indian Sign Language — was used as a lingua franca by dozens of native nations across the American continent, including the Navajo, Cree, and Crow. The system allowed disparate tribes — many of which spoke completely foreign languages — to communicate and trade. While American Sign Language would later take inspiration from multiple language systems, the sign language developed by Native Americans remains one the world's oldest and most widespread.
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Algonquin: Created Lacrosse
First played in southern Canada more than 200 years ago, early lacrosse games were a chaotic ballsport consisting of hundreds — and sometimes thousands — of participants at one time. When Europeans began settling on North America, some tribes used the game to win the newcomers' trust. In 1763, the Ojibwa people of Michigan used lacrosse as a Trojan Horse. With the British troops watching in the audience, the native athletes slowly worked their way to Fort Michilimackinac, and once they got close enough, they took the fort.
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Native Nations: Promoting Conservation
Writers often attribute the rise of the American conservation and environmental movement to Rachel Carson's 1962 book, Silent Spring. However, Native Americans have been promoting conservation since the beginning of time. In fact, some tribes, like the Anishinaabe, don't have a word for "conservation" because, to them, it's much more than a political philosophy — it's simply a fact of life. A 2019 U.N. report found that land managed by Indigenous populations had stronger biodiversity than land managed through modern agricultural methods.
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Native Nations: Shaped Modern-Day Words
You cannot drive around the United States or speak English without bumping into a Native American contribution. At least 26 state names have native origins, including Arkansas ("downstream people"), Mississippi ("great water"), and Ohio ("beautiful river"). English words that have native origins include "chipmunk," "hammock," "chocolate," "tequila," "canoe," and "opossum."
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. "From the archives
Thanks to Ralph, Glen and Mark
This is another great UTube from Ward Carrol
Essentially this was a "small guy" conflict that I'm sure elevated everyones' blood pressure. Amp that up to a major-power conflict and everything gets ramped up to an extreme level.
I'm glad it was planned and executed as a "small guy" conflict.
Thanks. Ralph
On Monday, April 3, 2023 at 10:23:51 AM PDT, Mark A. Russell <mark85749@gmail.com> wrote:
Some crazy times in that small stretch of the Strait. I cannot believe Iran didn't launch at least some of the hundreds of Silkworm missiles along their coastline. Maybe they don't have confidence for the targeting? In other words launching into crowded shipping lanes, civilian ships mixed with military, who's who?
There are a few pieces missing in this rendition, but none that were huge. Ex. US Specs Ops (other than assigned SEALS) from the US and a couple allied nations played a part. A friend of mine shimmied up one of the anchoring lines to one of the platforms. He's Army SOF. They did so at night to plant charges. US Army 160th spec ops Little Birds did a wee bit of chasing and shooting at the Iranian boghammar boats. Another friend "Big Neil" (ex. Delta Force pilot) gleefully spoke about "sawing those dang boats in half with the minigun". He was operating with and out of the UAE.
Anyway, crazy incidents and something tells me there will be more. Mark
On Sun, Apr 2, 2023 at 9:31 PM Glenn Russell
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Thanks to Dave
Dave Richwine
to me
Skip,
The recent 8th annual recognition of 29 March as Vietnam Veterans day generated some comments about the era.
Your readers might appreciate the following which I wrote in response to a one-liner relating to the day.
Semper Fidelis,
Dave Richwine/Jade.
(Like Lon and Shadow, among others, am a former infantry officer—Northern I Corps, 3/4, '66 & '67, Hastings and Prairie I & II— turned fighter pilot.)
These thoughts respond to the following comment regarding Vietnam Veteran day from one who served honorably in uniform — and in close combat — during the Vietnam Era: " IT WAS THE WORST AND BEST OF TIMES…!"
They were our times. . .and we made of them what we were able. They were difficult times for the country and especially for the Idea of America. We bore weight we should not have had to bear. We pay for that yet.
Vestiges of those unseemly days linger still. Ultimately the ungrounded, ill-informed, puerile and protected among our general population are coming to understand that the great preponderance of those who served in uniform did so with consummate character and class. . .and with purpose.
Reasoned sacrifice for our country is a fundamental element of our citizenship. Our Founding Fathers, in the closing lines of the Declaration of Independence declared the first principles of citizenship in the United States of America. Pledging their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to achieve their aim of creating the unique and exceptional nation we have inherited, they were all in. As Teddy Roosevelt noted in his "Man in the Arena" speech, our responsibilities as citizens should be part of our daily "to do" scan. . . whether in our run of the mill daily activities or in the rare instances we serve in harm's way.
We of the Vietnam era who qualified for service in the Armed Forces showed up, took an oath, donned the cloth and physically engaged were all in: fully committed. And we willingly served in harm's way where we fought bravely, selflessly. . .and successfully. We evidenced the high character Roosevelt noted is essential in all citizens if our republic is to survive.
I believe history will ultimately find that the timeless example our cohort set — of selfless sacrifice and love for our fellow citizen-warriors — will have helped to clear a path through the tumultuous, and torturous, sociological jungle of the mid- to late-1900's extending into this century. In recent decades, we've been through a spate of "bad times" enduring abusive, politically centered, anti-American events detrimental to our national health. Let's work to keep our "balance", set the example, and teach effectively during the current reemergent efforts to sustain and strengthen the Idea of America.
Eternal vigilance is a cost of Freedom*. Paraphrasing Ben Franklin's comment to Ms. Elizabeth Powel** following the first Constitutional Convention in 1787, we've been given a constitutional republic. It is ours. . .if we can keep it. Therefor, we must . . .
Keep Charging!
Semper Fidelis,
Jade
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. Interesting commentary.
by William Hamilton, Ph.D.
Vietnam remembered: 50 years later
When the order came to withdraw from Cambodia, we were in our 57th day of literally decimating the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) under Rules of Engagement (ROE) denied to us in South Vietnam. And, oddly enough, we Grunts had always been forbidden to attack the North Vietnamese Army in its homeland. How strange that President Johnson (LBJ) ordered Navy and USAF pilots to drop more bombs in the homeland of our ally than in the homeland of our enemy.
But then, LBJ and Secretary of State Dean Rusk were repeatedly telling President Ho Chi Minh that his job was safe j, unlike the victors of previous wars, we had no plans to invade North Vietnam. Our allies, the South Vietnamese, would have to suffer the inevitable collateral damage that attends bombing and strafing of the enemy.
We GIs, during my two years with the 1st Air Cavalry Division, went far out of our way to protect "our little allied brothers," for whom we held a wary affection. Wary because the NVA sometimes had its spys hidden in their ranks.
Most South Vietnamese just wanted to be left alone. But the over two million North Vietnamese Roman Catholics who fled south rather than be killed by the atheist Ho Chi Minh and his fellow communists wanted us to "win" and, thereby, allow them to go back home.
Such a convoluted geopolitical mess was the work of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, of his "whiz kids," and the work of a corrupt politician who, by the blast of an assassin's bullet, was thrust into a Commander-in-Chief's role for which he was totally unsuited. On March 31,1968, LBJ admitted as much, throwing in his presidential towel.
While the passage of 50 years makes these realities abundantly clear today, the statesmen who stumbled our Armed Forces into the Vietnam War did not possess the wisdom of General von Clausewitz, or Sun Tsu or that of Sir Halford John MacKinder, the founder of geopolitics. We GIs and the South Vietnamese were to suffer for that.
Nevertheless, we who had sworn an oath to protect and defend the United States and to obey the orders of those appointed over us, went off to do our duty in a war that lasted for ten years. History records we did our duty exceedingly well.
In 1975, when the Democrat-controlled Congress pulled the rug out from under the South Vietnamese, the "boat people" fled toward those who had fought beside them. That's us. Ironically, we GIs ended up generally beloved by our former allies and hated by the mostly upper-class elites and a few Bubbas like Bill Clinton who dodged military service.
It took this veteran 50 years to mull over the Vietnam/Cambodia experience and put it down on paper. Because the proceeds from this book go to disabled veterans, I do not shy away from citing it here: War During Peace: A Strategy for Defeat. The title says it all: Trying to be at war and at peace at the same time is a strategy for defeat. Either win or stay home because the consequences of an unwinnable strategy are the internal strife and discord from which our nation has yet to recover.
Suggested reading: War During Peace: A Strategy for Defeat, by William Hamilton, Ph.D., 2021. https://www.amazon.com/WAR-DURING-PEACE-Strategy-Defeat-ebook/dp/B09C1LRPGY/ref=sr_
©2023. William Hamilton.
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This Day in U S Military History April 4
1776 – The first Columbus, a 24-gun armed ship, was built at Philadelphia in
1774 as Sally; purchased for the Continental Navy in November 1775, Captain Abraham Whipple in command. Between 17 February and 8 April 1776, in company with the other ships of Commodore Esek Hopkins' squadron, Columbus took part in the expedition to New Providence, Bahamas, where the first Navy-Marine amphibious operation seized essential military supplies. On the return passage, the squadron captured the British schooner, Hawk.
1918 – During World War I, the Second Battle of the Somme, the first major German offensive in more than a year, ends on the western front. On March 21, 1918, a major offensive against Allied positions in the Somme River region of France began with five hours of bombardment from more than 9,000 pieces of German artillery. The poorly prepared British Fifth Army was rapidly overwhelmed and forced into retreat. For a week, the Germans pushed toward Paris, shelling the city from a distance of 80 miles with their "Big Bertha" cannons. However, the poorly supplied German troops soon became exhausted, and the Allies halted the German advance as French artillery knocked out the German guns besieging Paris. On April 2, U.S. General John J. Pershing sent American troops down into the trenches to help defend Paris and repulse the German offensive. It was the first major deployment of U.S. troops in World War I. Several thousand American troops fought alongside the British and French in the Second Battle of Somme. By the time the Somme offensive ended on April 4, the Germans had advanced almost 40 miles, inflicted some 200,000 casualties, and captured 70,000 prisoners and more than 1,000 Allied guns. However, the Germans suffered nearly as many casualties as their enemies and lacked the fresh reserves and supply boost the Allies enjoyed following the American entrance into the fighting.
1945 – On Okinawa, the forces of US 10th Army begin to meet the first real Japanese resistance on the ground. Troops of US 24th Corps are brought to a halt on a line just south of Kuba while the forces of 3rd Amphibious Corps have reached the Ishikawa Isthmus. A storm damages many landing craft and hampers further reinforcement.
1973 – A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming. Operation Homecoming was a series of diplomatic negotiations that in January 1973 made possible the return of 591 American prisoners of war held by North Vietnam. On Feb. 12, 1973, three C-141 transports flew to Hanoi, North Vietnam, and one C-9A aircraft was sent to Saigon, South Vietnam to pick up released prisoners of war. The first flight of 40 U.S. prisoners of war left Hanoi in a C-141A, later known as the "Hanoi Taxi" and now in a museum. From February 12 to April 4, there were 54 C-141 missions flying out of Hanoi, bringing the former POWs home. Each plane brought back 40 POWs. During the early part of Operation Homecoming, groups of POWs released were selected on the basis of longest length of time in prison. The first group had spent 6-8 years as prisoners of war. After Operation Homecoming, the U.S. still listed about 1,350 Americans as prisoners of war or missing in action and sought the return of roughly 1,200 Americans reported killed in action and body not recovered. These missing personnel would become the subject of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines each had liaison officers dedicated to prepare for the return of American POWs well in advance of their actual return. These liaison officers worked behind the scenes traveling around the United States assuring the returnees well being. They also were responsible for debriefing POWs to discern relevant intelligence about MIAs and to discern the existence of war crimes committed against them.
1975 – The first group of boat people from Vietnam began arriving in Malaysia. More than 1 million people fled from the close of the war to the early 1980s.
1975 – A major U.S. airlift of South Vietnamese orphans begins with disaster when an Air Force cargo jet crashes shortly after departing from Tan Son Nhut airbase in Saigon. More than 138 passengers, mostly children, were killed. Operation Baby Lift was designed to bring 2,000 South Vietnamese orphans to the United States for adoption by American parents. Baby Lift lasted for 10 days and was carried out during the final, desperate phase of the war, as North Vietnamese forces closed in on Saigon. Although this first flight ended in tragedy, all subsequent flights were completed safely, and Baby Lift aircraft brought orphans across the Pacific until the mission's conclusion on April 14, only 16 days before the fall of Saigon and the end of the war.
1983 – The space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage and the first US female into space was Sally Ride. Space Shuttle Challenger (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099) was the second orbiter of NASA's space shuttle program to be put into service following Columbia. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California. It launched and landed nine times before breaking apart 73 seconds into its tenth mission, STS-51-L, on January 28, 1986, resulting in the death of all seven crew members. It was the first of two shuttles to be destroyed. The accident led to a two-and-a-half year grounding of the shuttle fleet; flights resumed in 1988 with STS-26 flown by Discovery. Challenger itself was replaced by Endeavour which was built using structural spares ordered by NASA as part of the construction contracts for Discovery and Atlantis. Endeavour launched for the first time in May 1992.
2001 – Chinese President Jiang Zemin demanded the United States apologize for the collision between a U.S. Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet; the Bush administration offered a chorus of regrets, but no apology.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BREWER, WILLIAM J.
Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 2d New York Cavalry. Place and date: At Appomattox campaign, Va., 4 April 1865. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Putnam County, N.Y. Date of issue: 3 May 1865. Citation: Capture of engineer flag, Army of Northern Virginia.
RILEY, THOMAS
Rank and organization: Private, Company D, 1st Louisiana Cavalry. Place and date: At Fort Blakely, Ala., 4 April 1865. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 8 June 1865. Citation: Captured the flag of the 6th Alabama Cavalry.
BUCKLEY, HOWARD MAJOR
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 23 January 1868, Croton Falls, N.Y. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 55, 19 July 1901. Citation: For distinguished conduct in the presence of the Enemy in battle while with the Eighth Army Corps on 25, 27, 29 March, and 4 April 1899.
LEONARD, JOSEPH
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps. (Enlisted as Joseph Melvin). Born: 28 August 1876, Cohoes, N.Y. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 55, 19 July 1901. Citation: For distinguished conduct in the presence of the enemy in battles, while with the Eighth Army Corps on 25, 27, and 29 March, and on 4 April 1899.
CONDE-FALCON, FELIX M.
Rank and Organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company D, 1st Battalion, 82d Division. Place and Date: April 4, 1969, Ap Tan Hoa, Vietnam. Born: February 24, 1938, Juncos, Puerto Rico. Departed: Yes (04/04/1969). Entered Service At: Chicago, IL. G.O. Number: . Date of Issue: 03/18/2014. Accredited To: . Citation: Conde-Falcon distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions, April 4, 1969, while serving as platoon leader during a sweep operation in the vicinity of Ap Tan Hoa, Vietnam. Entering a heavily wooded section on the route of advance, the company encountered an extensive enemy bunker complex, later identified as a battalion command post. Following tactical artillery and air strikes on the heavily secured communist position, the platoon of Conde-Falcon was selected to assault and clear the bunker fortifications. Moving out ahead of his platoon, he charged the first bunker, heaving grenades as he went. As the hostile fire increased, he crawled to the blind side of an entrenchment position, jumped to the roof, and tossed a lethal grenade into the bunker aperture. Without hesitating, he proceeded to two additional bunkers, both of which he destroyed in the same manner as the first. Rejoined with his platoon, he advanced about one hundred meters through the trees, only to come under intense hostile fire. Selecting three men to accompany him, he maneuvered toward the enemy's flank position. Carrying a machine-gun, he single-handedly assaulted the nearest fortification, killing the enemy inside before running out of ammunition. After returning to the three men with his empty weapon and taking up an M-16 rifle, he concentrated on the next bunker. Within ten meters of his goal, he was shot by an unseen assailant and soon died of his wounds. His great courage, his ability to act appropriately and decisively in accomplishing his mission, his dedication to the welfare of his men mark him as an outstanding leader Conde-Falcon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
SMITH, PAUL RAY
Rank and Organization: Sergeant First Class, 2nd Platoon, B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. Place and Date: At Baghdad, Iraq, 4 April 2003. Citation: Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith's extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division "Rock of the Marne," and the United States Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for April 4, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
4 April
1933: The Navy dirigible Akron crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the New Jersey coast, killing 73 people. Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics, was one of the casualties. (21)
1944: Fifteenth Air Force conducted the first American bombing raid on Bucharest, Rumania. (24)
1957: The USAF announced that Rocketdyne Division of North American Aviation would study the use of ions as a power source for spaceships and missiles. (16) (24)
1963: In a fourth successful system trial, a Kwajalein-based Nike-Zeus anti-ICBM missile intercepted a Titan I ICBM launched from Vandenberg AFB. AMERICAN
1964: After an earthquake hit Anchorage and Seward, Alaska, C-124s airlifted 235,000 pounds of supplies from McChord AFB to the area. The Air Rescue Service flew medical supplies, reconnaissance, and evacuated injured or homeless people. (2)
1966: NASA selected eight new astronauts: Capt Joe H. Engle, Maj William R. Pogue, Capt Charles M. Duke, Jr., Capt Alfred M. Worden, Capt Stuart A. Roosa, Navy Lt Cmdr Edgar D Mitchell and Lt Thomas K. Mattingly, and Mr. Fred W. Haise, Jr.
1969: The X-24 Lifting Body completed its first captive flight with test pilot Maj Jerauld R. Gentry at the controls. The Martin Marietta X-24 was an American experimental aircraft developed from a joint United States Air Force-NASA program named PILOT (1963–1975). It was designed and built to test lifting body concepts, experimenting with the concept of unpowered reentry and landing, later used by the Space Shuttle. Originally built as the X-24A, the aircraft was later rebuilt as the X-24B
The X-24 was drop launched from a modified B-52 Stratofortress at high altitudes before igniting its rocket engine; after expending its rocket fuel, the pilot would glide the X-24 to an unpowered landing.
1969:. Through 10 April, from Spangdahlem AB the 49 TFW redeployed its 72 F-4Ds to Holloman AFB, using 504 refuelings. The unit earned the Mackay Trophy for this event. (21)
1972: The USAF renamed the Advanced ICBM as Missile-X. (6)
1974: Northrop's YF-17 prototype lightweight fighter rolled out at Hawthorne, Calif. (3)
1975: Operation NEW LIFE. To evacuate Cambodia and Vietnam, SAC flew tanker and reconnaissance sorties to support the US withdrawal. Through 30 April, MAC C-141s and C-130s, under PACAF's operational control, flew 375 missions to carry 50,493 Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees from Indochina to Pacific staging areas. From 12 April to 16 August, Andersen AFB became a temporary haven for some 110,000 refugees who traveled to the US. (1) (18) Operation BABYLIFT/AIR FORCE CROSS: A MAC C-5 crashed in an emergency landing near Saigon, while flying the first mission in this operation. It carried South Vietnamese children and their escorts from Tan Son Nhut AB in Saigon to Clark AB. Of the 314 passengers, 176 survived the crash. 1Lt Regina C. Aune, a flight nurse aboard the C-5, ignored broken leg and other injuries to help evacuate nearly 80 children from the plane's wreckage. She received the 1975 Cheney Award for her efforts. The pilot and copilot, Captains Dennis W. Traynor III and Tilford W. Harp, also received the Air Force Cross for extraordinary heroism. Despite this tragedy, the operation succeeded as C-141s and commercial planes moved 1,794 orphans from South Vietnam and Thailand to the US West Coast through 9 May. (2) (18)
1983: From 4-9 April, in the Space Shuttle Challenger's first mission the crew completed the first American spacewalk in nine years and launched NASA's first tracking and data relay satellite, which failed to reach its proper orbit due to a rocket malfunction. The shuttle landed on 9 April at Edwards AFB. This landing, however, represented the first time a shuttle had to be diverted into Edwards. (3)
1990: McDonnell Douglas provided the last of 60 KC-10A Extenders to the USAF. (16) (26)
1991: SAC assigned KC-10s to TAC's 4th Wing, the first composite wing. SAC remained the single air refueling manager. (18)
1999: Operation SUSTAIN HOPE or SHINING HOPE. A C-17 Globemaster III started this operation by airlifting relief supplies from Dover AFB to Tirana, Albania. By the 8 July end of the humanitarian airlift component of Operation ALLIED FORCE, Air Mobility Command had used C-5s, C-17s, and C-130s to airlift 913 passengers and 5,939 short tons of food and supplies to refugee camps in Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro. (21) (22)
2003: At Edwards AFB, the CV-22 Osprey completed a milestone by successfully flying a terrain following radar sortie. (3)
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