To All
Good Monday morning 25 May 2020
Today is Memorial Day
Regards,
Skip
To All
I hope that you all have a great Memorial Day .I really miss spending the day from the flight deck of the USS Midway in San Diego along with Worm, Ray, P-nuts and others who usually held down the fort by the F-8 Crusader all day.
See note below on local Memorial Day Observance Thanks to Jack
Regards,
Skip
From The Bear last year
Memorial Day 2019 – In Ocean's Wastes, No Poppies Blow, No Crosses Stand in Ordered Row….
Mighty Thunder is proud to present this beautiful little poem by Mr. Alan Syler ... to remember all those fallen warriors "lost at sea" and "body not recovered." No marker. To lie alone far from the hallowed ground of Arlington in the company of brothers-in-arms passed...
Memorial Day 2019 – In Ocean's Wastes, No Poppies Blow, No Crosses Stand in Ordered Row….
May 27, 2019Mighty Thunder
Mighty Thunder is proud to present this beautiful little poem by Mr. Alan Syler … to remember all those fallen warriors "lost at sea" and "body not recovered." No marker. To lie alone far from the hallowed ground of Arlington in the company of brothers-in-arms passed on. Alone in the deep. Forever. Not to be forgotten. Ever….
In Waters Deep
In ocean wastes no poppies blow,
No crosses stand in ordered row,
Their young hearts sleep… beneath the wave…
The spirited, the good, the brave,
But stars a constant vigil keep,
For them who lie beneath the deep.
'Tis true you cannot kneel in prayer
On certain spot and think. "He's there."
But you can to the ocean go…
See whitecaps marching row on row;
Know one for him will always ride…
In and out… with every tide.
And when your span of life is passed,
He'll meet you at the "Captain's Mast."
And they who mourn on distant shore
For sailors who'll come home no more,
Can dry their tears and pray for these
Who rest beneath the heaving seas…
For stars that shine and winds that blow
And whitecaps marching row on row.
And they can never lonely be
For when they lived… they chose the sea…
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In Flanders Fields
John McCrae - 1872-1918
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
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In case you thought Memorial Day weekend was three days of parties
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A Patriot Post tribute on link!
MEMORIAL DAY
"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." —John 15:12-14
"I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States." —John Adams
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Thanks to Jack
Memorial Day Observance
Due to the COVID-19 regulations preventing large public gatherings,
Memorial Day observations are veering away from tradition around the
nation this year. Normally (in San Diego) MD commemorations are held at
four major landmarks: Fort Roscranz National Cemetery, the USS Midway
Museum, Miramar National Cemetery and the Mt. Soledad Memorial. This
year the four events will be combined into one hour-long virtual video
simulcast ceremony people can watch live from their homes. The special
service will shift from location to location on a 15 minute interval
schedule - each location featuring? a special event featuring different
historical eras of military service. There will be bagpipers, a wreath
laying, buglers playing "echo taps", a military jet "missing man"
formation flyover and more. I was asked to participate with a brief
video clip that may be played at one of the locations. The live ceremony
will be videocast tomorrow (25 May) on the website
*www.sandiegomemorialdaylive.com *from 9 a.m to 10 a.m. (PDT) and posted
on YouTube and other websites afterwards.
Here's an opportunity to commemorate Memorial Day without even leaving
home. Please pass this on to your other family members and friends -
whose emails I don't have. Thanks.
Best regards,
Jack
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Today in Naval History
May 25
Memorial Day
On This day
1911
USS Wyoming (BB 32) launches. She is commissioned in Sept. 25, 1912 and later participates in the Veracruz Intervention and World War I.
1943
Patrol bombers from (VP 84) sink German submarine U 467 south-southeast of Iceland.
1944
USS Flying Fish (SS 229) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks guardboat Daito Maru and freighter Osaka Maru north of Palau.
1952
USS Iowa (BB 61) begins shelling industrial and rail centers at Chongjin, Korea. For her Korean War service, she receives two battle stars. USS Iowa is decommissioned in 1990 and is struck from the Navys list in 2006. Iowa is currently a museum ship.
1973
Skylab 2, the first U.S. manned orbiting space station, launches with all-Navy crew: Capt. Charles Conrad, Jr., Cmdr. Paul J. Weitz and Cmdr. Joseph P. Kerwin.
1985
USS Alabama (SN 731) is commissioned at Naval Submarine Base New London, C
No CHINFO TODAY
This Day in History May 25
0585Thales of Greece makes the first known prediction of a solar eclipse.
1085 Alfonso VI takes Toledo, Spain from the Muslims.
1787 The Constitutional convention opens at Philadelphia with George Washington presiding.
1810 Argentina declares independence from Napoleonic Spain.
1851 Jose Justo de Urquiza of Argentina leads a rebellion against Juan Manuel de Rosas, his former ally.
1911 Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico, resigns his office.
1914 The British House of Commons passes Irish Home Rule.
1925 John Scopes is indicted for teaching Darwinian theory in school.
1935 Jesse Owens sets six world records in less than an hour in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
1946 Jordan gains independence from Britain.
1953 The first atomic cannon is fired in Nevada
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS For May 25
FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR MAY 25
THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
1910: Orville and Wilbur Wright flew together for the first time at Dayton. (24) 1927: Lt James H. Doolittle performed the first known successful outside loop. (4) (24)
1931: COLLIER TROPHY. Walter E. Lees and Frederick A. Brossy started a flight that set a non-refueled world endurance record of 85 hours 32 minutes 28 seconds. They used a Packardowned Bellanca "Pacemaker," with a 225 HP diesel engine, at Jacksonville, Fla. For this event, Lees and Brossy earned the 1931 Collier Trophy. (24)
1938: Frank W. Fuller, Jr., in a Seversky, flew from San Francisco to Seattle in a record time of 2 hours 31 minutes 41 seconds. (24)
1948: Using a modified B-29 as the tanker aircraft, the Air Force completed its first in-flight refueling. Prior to this event, Boeing conducted the refueling demonstration program. (See 5 May 1948) (12)
1953: George Welch, a North American test pilot, flew the prototype YF-100A Super Sabre for the first time at the AFFTC on Edwards AFB. He broke Mach 1 during the flight. (3) (12)
1954: DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS/HARMON INTERNATIONAL TROPHY. Cmdr M.H. Eppes landed his ZPG-2 airship at NAS Key West after staying aloft for 200.1 hours. Eppes received the DFC and the 1955 Harmon International Trophy for Aeronauts. (24)
1959: The ADC received its first F-106 Delta Dart. It was designed to replace the F-102 Delta Dagger. (21)
1960: Through 21 June, after a series of earthquakes and a tidal wave hit Chile, the MATS sent C-118 and C-124 aircraft to transport 851 tons of cargo and 1,020 passengers for relief operations there. (2) (18)
1962: SAC turned over the last Jupiter IRBM squadron to Turkey. (6)
1964: First conventional flight of the Army's XV-5A, a Ryan-built STOL research aircraft, (formerly the VZ-11) occurred at Edwards AFB. (3) 1984: A MAC C-141 flew the body of the Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War from Travis AFB to Andrews AFB prior to its interment at Arlington National Cemetery. (18)
1993: Through 3 August, NASA demonstrated aerobraking, which used atmospheric drag to slow a spacecraft, to place the Magellan Venus probe into a lower orbit. (20)
1995: Through 26 May, USAF aircraft joined in on NATO attacks against Serbian military bunkers to halt Serb artillery attacks on Sarajevo. (16) (26)
1996: Through 26 May, during Air Fete '96, an annual air show at RAF Station Mildenhall, the first joint MiG-29, F-15C and F-15E formation flyby in aviation history occurred as a featured display. The F-15s came from nearby RAF Lakenheath, while the MiG-29 came from the Slovak Republic for the airshow. (AFNEWS Article 960522, May 96)
1999: The F-117 test force at Edwards AFB completed the Single Configuration Fleet program, which provided a uniform radar absorbing material (RAM) coating for the entire F-117 fleet to significantly reduce costs and maintenance hours. (3)
2007: C-17 Globemaster III crews of the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron delivered bullets to Beirut as part of a short notice ammunition re-supply tasking in support of the Lebanese military. (AFNEWS, "Airmen Deliver Strategic Aid to Lebanese Military, 28 May 2007.)
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This Day in American Military History
25 May
1953 – The first atomic cannon was fired at Frenchman Flat, Nevada. Fired as part of Operation Upshot-Knothole and codenamed Shot GRABLE, a 280 mm (11 inch) shell with a gun-type fission warhead was fired 10,000 m (6.2 miles) and detonated 160 m (525 ft) above the ground with an estimated yield of 15 kilotons. This was the only nuclear artillery shell ever actually fired in the U.S. nuclear weapons test program. The shell was 1384 mm (4.5 ft) long and weighed 365 kg (805 lb). It was fired from a special, very large artillery piece, nicknamed "Atomic Annie", built by the Artillery Test Unit of Fort Sill, Oklahoma. About 3,200 soldiers and civilians were present. The warhead was designated the W9 nuclear warhead and 80 were produced in 1952 to 1953 for the T-124 shell. It was retired in 1957.
1961 – President Kennedy asked the nation to work toward putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
1961 – NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker took the X-15 to 32,770 meters.
1968 – The communists launch their third major assault of the year on Saigon. The heaviest fighting occurred during the first three days of June, and again centered on Cholon, the Chinese section of Saigon, where U.S. and South Vietnamese forces used helicopters, fighter-bombers, and tanks to dislodge deeply entrenched Viet Cong infiltrators. A captured enemy directive, which the U.S. command made public on May 28, indicated that the Viet Cong saw the offensive as a means of influencing the Paris peace talks in their favor.
1999 – The US government released a bipartisan congressional report that said China stole design secrets for nuclear warheads that included every weapon in the current US nuclear arsenal. The systematic espionage campaign was dated back to the 1970s. Stolen technology included data on an Army antitank weapon, fighter airplanes and all the elements needed to launch a major nuclear attack. President Clinton responded that his administration was already "moving aggressively to tighten security."
1973 – Launch of Skylab 2 mission, which was first U.S. manned orbiting space station. It had an all Navy crew of CAPT Charles Conrad, Jr., USN. (commanding), CDR Joseph P. Kerwin, USN and CDR Paul J. Weitz, USN. During the 28 day mission of 404 orbits, the craft rendezvoused with Skylab to make repairs and conduct science experiments. Recovery by USS Ticonderoga (CVS-14)
2005 – Voyager 1, the most distant man-made object, has entered the heliosheath and is on the cusp of leaving the Solar System and entering the interstellar medium.
2008 – NASA's Phoenix lander lands in Green Valley region of Mars to search for environments suitable for water and microbial life.
Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*ADAMS, WILLIAM E.
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army, A/227th Assault Helicopter Company, 52d Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade. Place and Date: Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 25 May 1971. Entered Service at: Kansas City, Mo. Born: 16 June 1939, Casper, Wyo. Citation: Maj. Adams distinguished himself on 25 May 1971 while serving as a helicopter pilot in Kontum Province in the Republic of Vietnam. On that date, Maj. Adams volunteered to fly a lightly armed helicopter in an attempt to evacuate 3 seriously wounded soldiers from a small fire base which was under attack by a large enemy force. He made the decision with full knowledge that numerous antiaircraft weapons were positioned around the base and that the clear weather would afford the enemy gunners unobstructed view of all routes into the base. As he approached the base, the enemy gunners opened fire with heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. Undaunted by the fusillade, he continued his approach determined to accomplish the mission. Displaying tremendous courage under fire, he calmly directed the attacks of supporting gunships while maintaining absolute control of the helicopter he was flying. He landed the aircraft at the fire base despite the ever-increasing enemy fire and calmly waited until the wounded soldiers were placed on board. As his aircraft departed from the fire base, it was struck and seriously damaged by enemy anti-aircraft fire and began descending. Flying with exceptional skill, he immediately regained control of the crippled aircraft and attempted a controlled landing. Despite his valiant efforts, the helicopter exploded, overturned, and plummeted to earth amid the hail of enemy fire. Maj. Adams' conspicuous gallantry, intrepidity, and humanitarian regard for his fellow man were in keeping with the most cherished traditions of the military service and reflected utmost credit on him and the U S. Army.
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The forgotten history of Memorial Day
RICHARD GARDINER, THE CONVERSATION
MAY 23, 2020
In the years following the bitter Civil War, a former Union general took a holiday originated by former Confederates and helped spread it across the entire country.
The holiday was Memorial Day, an annual commemoration was born in the former Confederate States in 1866 and adopted by the United States in 1868. It is a holiday in which the nation honors its military dead.
Gen. John A. Logan, who headed the largest Union veterans' fraternity at that time, the Grand Army of the Republic, is usually credited as being the originator of the holiday.
Yet when General Logan established the holiday, he acknowledged its genesis among the Union's former enemies, saying, "It was not too late for the Union men of the nation to follow the example of the people of the South."
I'm a scholar who has written – with co-author Daniel Bellware – a history of Memorial Day. Cities and towns across America have for more than a century claimed to be the holiday's birthplace, but we have sifted through the myths and half-truths and uncovered the authentic story of how this holiday came into being.
Generous acts bore fruit
During 1866, the first year of this annual observance in the South, a feature of the holiday emerged that made awareness, admiration and eventually imitation of it spread quickly to the North.
During the inaugural Memorial Day observances which were conceived in Columbus, Georgia, many Southern participants – especially women – decorated graves of Confederate soldiers as well as, unexpectedly, those of their former enemies who fought for the Union.
Civil War Union Gen. John A. Logan.
(Library of Congress Glass negatives via The Conversation)
Shortly after those first Memorial Day observances all across the South, newspaper coverage in the North was highly favorable to the ex-Confederates.
"The action of the ladies on this occasion, in burying whatever animosities or ill-feeling may have been engendered in the late war towards those who fought against them, is worthy of all praise and commendation," wrote one paper.
On May 9, 1866, the Cleveland Daily Leaderlauded the Southern women during their first Memorial Day.
"The act was as beautiful as it was unselfish, and will be appreciated in the North."
The New York Commercial Advertiser, recognizing the magnanimous deeds of the women of Columbus, Georgia, echoed the sentiment. "Let this incident, touching and beautiful as it is, impart to our Washington authorities a lesson in conciliation."
Power of a poem
To be sure, this sentiment was not unanimous. There were many in both parts of the U.S. who had no interest in conciliation.
But as a result of one of these news reports, Francis Miles Finch, a Northern judge, academic and poet, wrote a poem titled "The Blue and the Gray." Finch's poem quickly became part of the American literary canon. He explained what inspired him to write it:
"It struck me that the South was holding out a friendly hand, and that it was our duty, not only as conquerors, but as men and their fellow citizens of the nation, to grasp it."
Finch's poem seemed to extend a full pardon to the South: "They banish our anger forever when they laurel the graves of our dead" was one of the lines.
Not just poems: Sheet music written to commemorate Memorial Day in 1870
(Library of Congress via The Conversation)
Almost immediately, the poem circulated across America in books, magazines and newspapers. By the end of the 19th century, school children everywhere were required to memorize Finch's poem. The ubiquitous publication of Finch's rhyme meant that by the end of 1867, the southern Memorial Day holiday was a familiar phenomenon throughout the entire, and recently reunited, country.
General Logan was aware of the forgiving sentiments of people like Finch. When Logan's order establishing Memorial Day was published in various newspapers in May 1868, Finch's poem was sometimes appended to the order.
'The blue and the grey'
It was not long before Northerners decided that they would not only adopt the Southern custom of Memorial Day, but also the Southern custom of "burying the hatchet." A group of Union veterans explained their intentions in a letter to the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph on May 28, 1869:
"Wishing to bury forever the harsh feelings engendered by the war, Post 19 has decided not to pass by the graves of the Confederates sleeping in our lines, but divide each year between the blue and the grey the first floral offerings of a common country. We have no powerless foes. Post 19 thinks of the Southern dead only as brave men."
Other reports of reciprocal magnanimity circulated in the North, including the gesture of a 10-year-old who made a wreath of flowers and sent it to the overseer of the holiday, Colonel Leaming, in Lafayette, Indiana, with the following note attached, published in The New Hampshire Patriot on July 15, 1868:
"Will you please put this wreath upon some rebel soldier's grave? My dear papa is buried at Andersonville, (Georgia) and perhaps some little girl will be kind enough to put a few flowers upon his grave."
PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S WISH THAT THERE BE "MALICE TOWARD NONE" AND "CHARITY FOR ALL" WAS VISIBLE IN THE MAGNANIMOUS ACTIONS OF PARTICIPANTS ON BOTH SIDES, WHO EXTENDED AN OLIVE BRANCH DURING THE MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCES IN THOSE FIRST THREE YEARS.
ALTHOUGH NOT KNOWN BY MANY TODAY, THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF THE MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY WAS A MANIFESTATION OF LINCOLN'S HOPE FOR RECONCILIATION BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH.
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