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Good Saturday Morning 30 January.
I hope that you are having a good start to your weekend
Regards,
Skip
This day in Naval History
Jan. 30
1862—The first U.S. Navy ironclad warship, USS Monitor, is launched. Commissioned a month later, she soon engages in battle against CSS Virginia, the first battle between ironclad warships.
1863—While Landsman Richard Stout is a member of the crew of USS Isaac Smith, which is operating on the Stono River, SC, Confederate forces ambush and capture the ship. For his brave conduct during this action, in which he is badly wounded, Landsman Stout is awarded the Medal of Honor.
1944—U.S. Navy ships, including battleship North Carolina, and aircraft, sink nine Japanese vessels.
1944—PB2Y aircraft (VP 13 and VP 102) from Midway Island carry out nocturnal bombing raids on Wake Island to neutralize Japanese airfield installations. The strike marks the first time Coronados are used as bombers.
1960—The guided-missile destroyer John King (DDG 3) is launched at Bath, ME.
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Thanks to Mike
World War I Flight Training Video 5 min video - Can download it using the settings feature.
http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/media/005/005k.html
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This day in World History
January 30
1649 | Charles I of England is beheaded at Whitehall by the executioner Richard Brandon. | |
1844 | Richard Theodore Greener becomes the first African American to graduate from Harvard University. | |
1862 | The USS Monitor is launched at Greenpoint, Long Island. | |
1901 | Women Prohibitionists smash 12 saloons in Kansas. | |
1912 | The British House of Lords opposes the House of Commons by rejecting home rule for Ireland. | |
1931 | The United States awards civil government to the Virgin Islands. | |
1933 | Adolf Hitler is named Chancellor by President Paul Hindenburg. | |
1936 | Governor Harold Hoffman orders a new inquiry into the Lindbergh kidnapping. | |
1943 | Field Marshal Friedrich von Paulus surrenders himself and his staff to Red Army troops in Stalingrad. | |
1945 | The Allies launch a drive on the Siegfried line in Germany. | |
1949 | In India, 100,000 people pray at the site of Gandhi's assassination on the first anniversary of his death. | |
1953 | President Dwight Eisenhower announces that he will pull the Seventh Fleet out of Formosa to permit the Nationalists to attack Communist China. | |
1964 | The Ranger spacecraft, equipped with six TV cameras, is launched to the moon from Cape Canaveral. | |
1972 | British troops shoot dead 14 Irish civilians in Derry, Ireland. The day is forever remembered in Ireland as 'Bloody Sunday.' | |
1976 | The U.S. Supreme Court bans spending limits in campaigns, equating funds with freedom of speech. | |
1980 | The first-ever Chinese Olympic team arrives in New York for the Winter Games at Lake Placid. |
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Worth repeating
Thanks to Michael ..and Dr.Rich.
… and then send it to your kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids??
You may have seen something like this one .. but wait until the end to decide ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAM6rhMSz3o
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Thanks to Richard
Subject: Fw: From biplanes to drones: How the Navy's carrier aircraft have dominated battlefields for almost a century
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-navy-carrier-aircraft-have-dominated-for-almost-a-century-2021-1
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Thanks to Dr. Rich
Bits and pieces ...
Thanks to Jim Allen …
When one door closes and another door opens, you are probably in prison. I wouldn't know, but I can imagine the feeling. Unpleasant images come to mind.
To me, "drink responsibly" means don't spill it. Those sippy cups aren't just for kids you know.
Age 60 might be the new 40, 9:00 pm is the new midnight. If I take a catnap at 5pm and 8pm, I've discovered I can actually make it to midnight occasionally. And nothing is more confusing than waking up after a nap and it's dark outside. Am I late for work or dinner? "Who am I, where am I, what time of day is it? What day is it?" Kinda like an abductee in the movies waking from being drugged, after being flown to another country. I feel for them.
It's the start of a brand new day, and I'm off like a herd of turtles. Is that a spoonerism. I guess they're actually called a bale (apparent by the lines around their shells, right?) Who determines stuff like that. Pods, murders, gaggles? What's wrong with herds, flocks and, well flocks. Add schools to non-mammal sea creatures and I'm happy. Just curious. Words are continually added to dictionaries. Are any ever removed from disuse, modern spelling change, etc.?
The older I get, the earlier it gets late. Doesn't seem to matter what time I get up. Weird. I think it's called OBST, Old Body Standard Time. And it is NOT seasonal. When it says go to bed, it does. But wait, I'm watching a great movie. It doesn't seem to care. I try to catch up. Get up! It does. But wait I'm having a good dream. I'm just along for the ride, bumpy sometimes. I apparently have no choice. I try to hang in there, nodding off at 8, pretending I'm watching TV. I toss and turn in the morning trying not to listen to my old body (and bladder). I shall learn to obey someday.
When I say, "The other day," I could be referring to any time between yesterday and 15 years ago. Reminds me of living in Victor those decades ago. A little Mormon town (as you know). We hadn't been settled but a few days. I'm sitting on the front porch swilling a cold beer when this guy pulls up and introduces himself as a neighbor. I look at the nearby houses wondering which is his. He cut off my search, "We live just down the road." I later found out he lived MILES down the road. He had obviously been sent by the church, which was just a block or so from our house, on a recon mission. Apparently, if you live in the Valley, everyone is considered your neighbor.
Actually, for being non-Mormon, we were well-accepted in Victor. I was even on their Town Council for a couple years. That position may had some influence, allowing me to "open up" the defunct airstrip in town. That in turn allowed me to commute to and from JAC when working for you. The strip was only a few thousand few long, grassed over. Town Hall at one end and power lines at the other. I'd take off, climb up Moose Canyon and through the pass, then essentially glide into JAC. If I recall, it took about 20 min.Today, it looks like Agate Ave. is sitting on the strip.
I remember being able to get up without making sound effects. Well, at least you know where I am. Same thing happens when I go to bed. A good reason to wait until your spouse falls asleep before you retire.
I had my patience tested. I'm negative. I'm still slightly positive, but my condition is fading. With kids and animals, I exhibit positive, with just plain "stupid", stubborn or inconsiderate adults, somewhat negative.
Remember, if you lose a sock in the dryer, it comes back as a Tupperware lid that doesn't fit any of your containers. PFM! Even David Copperfield can't pull that one off, unless of course he has some mis-matched socks and Tupperware.
When you ask me what I am doing today, and I say "nothing," it does not mean I am free. It means I am doing nothing.
I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days, but whatever. Sometimes, I even rack up those hours at night.
I run like the winded. I used to. Now I'm just winded and windy - without running. How does breathing hard get to my ass so fast? Breath in fart out. Is there a pneumo-digestive tract bypass?
When you do squats, are your knees supposed to sound like a goat chewing on an aluminum can stuffed with celery? What a great metaphor, or is that a simile? It's definitely a smile.
I don't mean to interrupt people. I just randomly remember things and get really excited. The younger generation is even better at it. They just can't seem to wait until the old folks are done. It's like they have a "listening timer" that ticks twice as fast as my "talking timer". Theirs always go off before mine. What's the medical term - oldfarttalkus interruptus?
When I ask for directions, please don't use words like "east." Sunrise and sunset may work, tho. The Denver area and Jackson. You always know which way is west, unless you're downtown Denver. When they laid out the city a 150 years ago some bastard thought it would make sense to align the streets with Cherry Creek. Real smart. The creek runs southeast to northwest. Can't see one mountain when downtown. Before GPS and if the sun wasn't out, I've wandered aimlessly down there. Thank God for the pub bartender/guide to give me direction.
I recall being in Scotland in December. I really had a hard time determining direction because the sun could be either far north or south during the day. Even Kenya. The sun seemed to just hover directly overhead. I took a picture one day of a power pole outside my hotel window at noon. It didn't have a shadow! Equinox.
Don't bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That'll freak you right out. I could use your feet, tho. Mine work and look like my head - bumpy, achy, and neither doesn't want any undue stress on them until noon - or after 4pm.
Sometimes, someone unexpected comes into your life out of nowhere, makes your heart race, and changes you forever. We call those people cops. Again, I wouldn't know. Not innocent, just lucky.
My luck is like a bald guy who just won a comb. I may be bald, but I still use a comb. Why, how did my body redirect hair growth from my head to my eyebrows and ears? Someone once quipped. It's just gravity. As you bald those scalp follicles just find new places to grow. Unfortunately, gravity seems to be affecting other parts of my body these days well. Soup to nuts. Nuts! Yeah, those too.
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From the List archives
Why were they called 27 Charlie….For those who knew or never knew
Thanks to GBox
Thanks to a friend of mine, Supply Corp no less, here is why the Bonnie Dick, Oriskany, Tico, Hancock, and others were called 27 Charlie Class Carriers. I never knew ……
From: Jim Dunkle
Many of you may, as have I, wondered why Carriers of a certain class were designated Twenty Seven Charlies (27Cs). While reading Peter Fey's Bloody Sixteen, The USS Oriskany and Air Wing 16 During the Vietnam War, I found the answer. Fey mentions Ship Modernization Program SCB-27. I Googled SCB-27 and found the answer at the below link. In a never ending effort to keep you informed, please go here:
https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/usnshtp/cv/scb27cl.htm
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Thanks to CAP
Subject: MORE: Welcome to the Oligarchy\RICH
Hi to all -
Oligarchy
This term refers to a kind of government we sometimes call 'crony capitalism'. Public officials and big business collude to get and hold power, and wealth, at the expense of everyone else. It is a step along the way to total communism, when even big business submits to the government.
Washington DC
Did you see that they are building a steel and concrete fence all around the capitol building, and other offices? That, along with the thousands of troops stationed there tells us what? For one thing, it tells us that the left is very, very afraid that the public will rise up and throw them out. They must move fast, to secure and consolidate their positions, before everyone else can react.
Biden, who believes in democracy and consensus, is now up to 40 Executive Orders, fundamentally changing the structure of America. Just as he and Obama promised, all those years ago.
Pelosi and others are beating the drum to declare all republicans as 'white supremacists', and 'terrorists, like unto ISIS', and so forth. Comrade AOC is a leader among those shrill voices. Pelosi has said for years that 'republicans are the greatest threat to OUR democracy'. That is true. Republicans are a threat to what Nancy calls democracy - which is in fact, oligarchy. But, we must have an external threat, an enemy, real or imagined, to allow us to enforce our edicts.
Election Fraud
The media still denies this ever happened. A judge in Virginia decreed that all those late ballots were invalid, and therefore illegal. Wonder if that will affect the results. There are many other such cases pending, perhaps more will also declare late ballots, and some of the other really extreme things as illegal. This is a serious threat to democrats, everywhere.
Chicago
The Teachers Union likes getting paid for staying home, or going on vacation, or whatever else they are doing. One spokesperson said that forcing them back into the classroom (which, as I recall, is their job) would 'allow white people to kill blacks'. So, doing their job makes everyone else 'racist', of course.
LA
Their DA, George Gascon, who was elected using several million dollars from George Soros, has been working to 'reform' the law there. Translated from democrat speak, that means making crimes okay, and crooks let loose. His latest one is an admitted child pornographer, waiting trial, was given a very short sentence, minus the time already served. He will be loose in 3-4 months. The parents of the abused children are not happy, but the social justice warriors are ecstatic.
RobinHood
The fallout is still raining down upon us. Google deleted 100,000 negative comments on that site, in an effort to protect the hedge fund managers. Honor among thieves, I guess.
Facebook, for its part, deleted a Christian scholar who objected to transgender people serving in the military. I am sure that is because Facebook is concerned for the safety and security of the nation, not 'social justice'.
Coleen Oefeleken, who worked in a literary job, was fired for just having an account with Parler, and Gab. No posts, nothing derogatory, she just had the accounts, and was therefore a right wing terrorist, not a proper left wing journalist.
Roman Triumph
After a general had won a great victory, and was parading through Rome, there was always a slave on the chariot behind him, who continually whispered into the ear of the general "Power is Fleeting". Just a hint not to let this moment go to his head, and to retain a measure of humility. Perhaps DC needs such a reminder.
Spanish Flu
Just 100 years ago, there was a worldwide pandemic of this flu, which killed something like 50 million people. No nation wanted to claim this as coming from them. The Spanish, who had relaxed censorship rules after the war, reported on the flu, and everyone was very happy to blame it on them. But, new research into this tells another story. Seems this flu was similar to several others - all of which came from China. In spite of WHO claiming that they just cannot tell where the flu came from (as they cash their checks from China), it appears that biowarfare is a specialty of China, and has been for a long, long time. Sleep well, boys and girls, Biden is on their payroll, and will look after your safety, trust him, he says so.
Rich
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January 30
This Day in U S Military History
1798 – A brawl broke out in the House of Representatives in Philadelphia. Matthew Lyon of Vermont spat in the face of Roger Griswold of Connecticut, who responded by attacking him with a hickory walking stick. Lyon was re -elected congressman while serving a jail sentence for violating the Sedition Acts of 1798.
1815 – The burned Library of Congress was reestablished with Jefferson's 6,500 volumes.
1835 – In the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol, President Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, survives the first attempt against the life of a U.S. president. During a funeral service honoring the late Representative Warren R. Davis of South Carolina, a man identified as Richard Lawrence discharged two separate pistols in the direction of President Jackson. Both weapons misfired, and Lawrence was promptly subdued and arrested. During the subsequent criminal investigation, the suspect was found to be insane and was sent to a mental prison. Three decades later, President Abraham Lincoln would become the first president to be assassinated.
1862 – U.S.S. Monitor, the Union's first sea-going ironclad vessel, launched at Greenpoint, New York. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Fox wired John Ericsson, referring to Monitor's launching: "I congratulate you and trust she will be a success. Hurry her for sea, as the Merrimack is nearly ready at Norfolk, and we wish to send her here."
1933 – German President Paul von Hindenburg made Adolf Hitler chancellor. After World War I, Germany fell into disarray and looked for a leader to strengthen it again. Hitler had emerged after joining the Nazi Party in 1919 and taking it over in 1921. In 1932 Hitler ran against von Hindenburg and lost – -but not by a wide margin. The Nazis won 230 seats in the German parliament and continued to gain influence, stifling democracy and communism by force and by making laws against them. After Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Der Führer of the Third Reich and continued as Germany's leader through World War II. Gen. Kurt von Hammerstein -Equord tried to block the appointment of Hitler as chancellor but was overruled by Pres. Hindenburg.
1942 – The last pre-war automobiles produced by Chevrolet and DeSoto rolled off the assembly lines today. Wartime restrictions had shut down the commercial automobile industry almost completely, and auto manufacturers were racing to retool their factories for production of military gear.
1943 – On Guadalcanal American forces continue to advance against Japanese resistance. There is heavy fighting along the River Bonegi.
1943 –Second day of the Battle of Rennell Island. The USS Chicago is sunk and a U.S. destroyer is heavily damaged by Japanese torpedoes.
1944 – At Anzio the Allied offensive begins. There are heavy losses and no gains against the German defenses. To the south, along the German-held Gustav Line, the US 5th Army continues attacking. The British 5th Division (part of 10th Corps) breaks through the line and captures Monte Natale. Around Monte Cassino, the US 34th Division (part of 2nd Corps) holds its bridgehead on the west bank of the Rapido River.
1945 – US Army Rangers and Filipino guerrillas executed a flawless rescue of 486 POWs from Camp Cabanatuan north of Manila. The Raid at Cabanatuan, also known as The Great Raid, was a rescue of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians from a Japanese camp near Cabanatuan City, in the Philippines. On January 30, 1945, during World War II, United States Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and Filipino guerrillas liberated more than 500 from the POW camp. After the surrender of tens of thousands of American troops during the Battle of Bataan, many were sent to a Cabanatuan prison camp following the Bataan Death March. The Japanese transferred most of the prisoners to other areas, leaving just over 500 American and other Allied POWs and civilians in the prison. Facing brutal conditions including disease, torture, and malnourishment, the prisoners feared they would all be executed as General Douglas MacArthur and his American forces returned to Luzon. In late January 1945, a plan was developed by Sixth Army leaders and Filipino guerrillas to send a small force to rescue the prisoners. A group of over a hundred Rangers and Scouts and several hundred guerrillas traveled 30 miles (48 km) behind Japanese lines to reach the camp. In a nighttime raid, under the cover of darkness and a distraction by a P-61 Black Widow, the group surprised the Japanese forces in and around the camp. Hundreds of Japanese troops were killed in the 30-minute coordinated attack; the Americans suffered minimal casualties. The Rangers, Scouts, and guerrillas escorted the POWs back to American lines. The rescue allowed the prisoners to tell of the death march and prison camp atrocities, which sparked a new rush of resolve for the war against Japan. The rescuers were awarded commendations by MacArthur, and were also recognized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A memorial now sits on the site of the former camp, and the events of the raid have been depicted in several films.
1945 – A US battalion is landed to take Gamble Island in Subic Bay. To the north, US 11th Corps begins to advance inland quickly and takes Olongapo on Luzon.
1953 – U.S. Air Force Captain Benjamin L. Fithian, and his "backseater" Lieutenant Sam Lyons, 319th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, achieved the first F-94 aerial victory when they destroyed a Lavochkin La-9, a "Bedcheck Charlie," which was the nickname given to small communist aircraft that regularly harassed U.N. troops after midnight. The two men made the kill at night using only their fire control radar, a combat first in its own right.
1968 – In coordinated attacks all across South Vietnam, communist forces launch their largest offensive of the Vietnam War against South Vietnamese and U.S. troops. Dozens of cities, towns, and military bases–including the U.S. embassy in Saigon–were attacked. The massive offensive was not a military success for the communists, but its size and intensity shook the confidence of many Americans who were led to believe, by the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, that the war would shortly be coming to a successful close. On January 30, 1968-during the Tet holiday cease-fire in South Vietnam-an estimated 80,000 troops of the North Vietnamese Army and National Liberation Front attacked cities and military establishments throughout South Vietnam. The most spectacular episode occurred when a group of NLF commandos blasted through the wall surrounding the American embassy in Saigon and unsuccessfully attempted to seize the embassy building. Most of the attacks were turned back, with the communist forces suffering heavy losses. Battles continued to rage throughout the country for weeks–the fight to reclaim the city of Hue from communist troops was particularly destructive. American and South Vietnamese forces lost over 3,000 men during the offensive. Estimates for communist losses ran as high as 40,000. While the communists did not succeed militarily, the impact of the Tet Offensive on public opinion in the United States was significant. The American people, who had been told a few months earlier that the war was successful and that U.S. troops might soon be allowed withdraw, were stunned to see fighting taking place on the grounds of the U.S. embassy. Despite assurances from the Johnson administration that all was well, the Tet Offensive led many Americans to begin seriously questioning such statements, and to wonder whether American military might could truly prevail over the communist threat on foreign shores. In the 1950s, Americans had almost unconditionally supported a vigorous American response to communism; the reaction to the Tet Offensive seemed to reflect the growing skepticism of the 1960s, when Americans felt increasingly doubtful about the efficacy of such Cold War tactics. In the wake of the Tet Offensive, support for the U.S. effort in Vietnam began steadily to decline, and public opinion turned sharply against President Johnson, who decided not to run for re-election.
1971 – Operation Dewey Canyon II begins as the initial phase of Lam Son 719, the South Vietnamese invasion of Laos that would commence on February 8. The purpose of the South Vietnamese operation was to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail, advance to Tchepone in Laos, and destroy the North Vietnamese supply dumps in the area. In Dewey Canyon II, the vanguard of the U.S. 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division began moving from Vandegrift Combat Base along highway Route 9 toward Khe Sanh with an armored cavalry/engineer task force. These units were to clear the way for the move of 20,000 South Vietnamese troops along the highway to reoccupy 1,000 square miles of territory in northwest South Vietnam and to mass at the Laotian border in preparation for Lam Son 719. U.S. ground forces were not to enter Laos, in accordance with a U.S. congressional ban. Instead they gave logistical support, with some 2,600 helicopters on call to airlift Saigon troops and supplies. In addition, U.S. artillerymen provided long-range artillery fires into Laos from American firebases just inside the South Vietnamese border.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
STOUT, RICHARD
Rank and organization: Landsman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1836, New York. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 32, 16 April 1864. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Isaac Smith, Stono River, 30 January 1863. While reconnoitering on the Stono River on this date the U.S.S. Isaac Smith became trapped in a rebel ambush. Fired on from two sides, she fought her guns until disabled. Suffering heavy casualties and at the mercy of the enemy who was delivering a raking fire from every side, she struck her colors out of regard for the wounded aboard, and all aboard were taken prisoners. Carrying out his duties bravely through this action, Stout was severely wounded and lost his right arm while returning the rebel fire.
DROWLEY, JESSE R.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Americal Infantry Division. Place and date: Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 30 January 1944. Entered service at: Spokane, Wash. Birth: St. Charles, Mich. G.O. No.: 73, 6 September 1944. Citation: For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy at Bougainville, Solomon Islands, 30 January 1944. S/Sgt. Drowley, a squad leader in a platoon whose mission during an attack was to remain under cover while holding the perimeter defense and acting as a reserve for assaulting echelon, saw 3 members of the assault company fall badly wounded. When intense hostile fire prevented aid from reaching the casualties, he fearlessly rushed forward to carry the wounded to cover. After rescuing 2 men, S/Sgt. Drowley discovered an enemy pillbox undetected by assaulting tanks that was inflicting heavy casualties upon the attacking force and was a chief obstacle to the success of the advance. Delegating the rescue of the third man to an assistant, he ran across open terrain to 1 of the tanks. Signaling to the crew, he climbed to the turret, exchanged his weapon for a submachine gun and voluntarily rode the deck of the tank directing it toward the pillbox by tracer fire. The tank, under constant heavy enemy fire, continued to within 20 feet of the pillbox where S/Sgt. Drowley received a severe bullet wound in the chest. Refusing to return for medical treatment, he remained on the tank and continued to direct its progress until the enemy box was definitely located by the crew. At this point he again was wounded by small arms fire, losing his left eye and falling to the ground. He remained alongside the tank until the pillbox had been completely demolished and another directly behind the first destroyed. S/Sgt. Drowley, his voluntary mission successfully accomplished, returned alone for medical treatment.
HAWKS, LLOYD C.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Carano, Italy, 30 January 1944. Entered service at: Park Rapids, Minn. Born: 13 January 1911, Becker, Minn. G.O. No.: 5, 15 January 1945. Citation: For gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 30 January 1944, at 3 p.m., near Carano, Italy, Pfc. Hawks braved an enemy counterattack in order to rescue 2 wounded men who, unable to move, were Iying in an exposed position within 30 yards of the enemy. Two riflemen, attempting the rescue, had been forced to return to their fighting holes by extremely severe enemy machinegun fire, after crawling only 10 yards toward the casualties. An aid man, whom the enemy could plainly identify as such, had been critically wounded in a similar attempt. Pfc. Hawks, nevertheless, crawled 50 yards through a veritable hail of machinegun bullets and flying mortar fragments to a small ditch, administered first aid to his fellow aid man who had sought cover therein, and continued toward the 2 wounded men 50 yards distant. An enemy machinegun bullet penetrated his helmet, knocking it from his head, momentarily stunning him. Thirteen bullets passed through his helmet as it lay on the ground within 6 inches of his body. Pfc. Hawks, crawled to the casualties, administered first aid to the more seriously wounded man and dragged him to a covered position 25 yards distant. Despite continuous automatic fire from positions only 30 yards away and shells which exploded within 25 yards, Pfc. Hawks returned to the second man and administered first aid to him. As he raised himself to obtain bandages from his medical kit his right hip was shattered by a burst of machinegun fire and a second burst splintered his left forearm. Displaying dogged determination and extreme self-control, Pfc. Hawks, despite severe pain and his dangling left arm, completed the task of bandaging the remaining casualty and with superhuman effort dragged him to the same depression to which he had brought the first man. Finding insufficient cover for 3 men at this point, Pfc. Hawks crawled 75 yards in an effort to regain his company, reaching the ditch in which his fellow aid man was lying.
*McGOVERN, ROBERT M.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company A, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. Place and date: Near Kamyangjan-ni, Korea, 30 January 1951. Entered service at: Washington, D.C. Birth: Washington, D.C. G.O. No.: 2, 8 January 1952. Citation: 1st Lt. McGovern, a member of Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an armed enemy of the United Nations. As 1st Lt. McGovern led his platoon up a slope to engage hostile troops emplaced in bunker-type pillboxes with connecting trenches, the unit came under heavy machine gun and rifle fire from the crest of the hill, approximately 75 yards distant. Despite a wound sustained in this initial burst of withering fire, 1st Lt. McGovern, assured the men of his ability to continue on and urged them forward. Forging up the rocky incline, he fearlessly led the platoon to within several yards of its objective when the ruthless foe threw and rolled a vicious barrage of handgrenades on the group and halted the advance. Enemy fire increased in volume and intensity and 1st Lt. McGovern realizing that casualties were rapidly increasing and the morale of his men badly shaken, hurled back several grenades before they exploded. Then, disregarding his painful wound and weakened condition he charged a machine gun emplacement which was raking his position with flanking fire. When he was within 10 yards of the position a burst of fire ripped the carbine from his hands, but, undaunted, he continued his lone-man assault and, firing his pistol and throwing grenades, killed 7 hostile soldiers before falling mortally wounded in front of the gun he had silenced. 1st Lt. McGovern's incredible display of valor imbued his men with indomitable resolution to avenge his death. Fixing bayonets and throwing grenades, they charged with such ferocity that hostile positions were overrun and the enemy routed from the hill. The inspirational leadership, unflinching courage, and intrepid actions of 1st Lt. McGovern reflected utmost glory on himself and the honored tradition of the military services.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for January 30, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
30 January
1911: LONGEST OVERWATER FLIGHT TO DATE: John A. "Douglas" McCurdy flew a Curtiss hydroairplane (or seaplane) from Key West, Fla., to a naval torpedo boat located 10 miles from Havana, Cuba. (24)
1946: Major General Curtis E. LeMay announced the opening of an advanced aeronautical engineering school at Wright Field, Ohio. He asked for $300,000 to build a wind tunnel for supersonic aircraft too. (24)
1948: Orville Wright died in Dayton, Ohio. He was 76. (16)
1951: KOREAN WAR. The 61st Troop Carrier Group's C-54s were the first USAF aircraft to land at the recaptured Suwon Airfield, Republic of Korea. They delivered 270 tons of supplies for the advancing United Nations forces. (28) The Navy confirmed the first flight test of XF4D-1 Skyray. (5)
1964: From Cape Canaveral, Fla., Ranger IV launched on a flight to take photos of the moon. The vehicle hit the moon on 2 February, where its cameras failed. (5)
1970: Air Force System Command's Space and Missile Systems Organization turned operational control of the first Skynet communications satellite to the United Kingdom. (16)
1979: Flight P78-2 launched for the Space Test Program. The joint NASA and Air Force mission, designated SCATHA (Spacecraft Charging at High Altitudes), gathered data on the build-up of electrical charges on satellites operating at geosynchronous altitude. (5)
1985: The last E-4A modified into an E-4B returned to Offutt AFB, Nebr. The E-4B received nuclear effects shields, an advanced command and control system, a 1200-KVA generator (largest generator ever flown), and 13 external communications systems. (1)
1992: Air Force Space Command assumed control over Department of Defense satellites and the operation and management of Air Force Satellite Network Control. (26)
2001: F-22 Raptor (Tail No. 004) arrived at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., for testing. It was the first F-22 to have a full avionics suite and stealth capabilities, while the first three F-22s were developed to test the jet's flight envelope. (3)
2003: The Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., began ground testing for the Global Hawk "Reachback" Demonstration. (See 24 January 2003) (3)
2007: A B-52 Stratofortress at Minot AFB, N. Dak., fired up its engines before daybreak for a test to measure the difference between JP-8 fuel and a new synthetic fuel. The testing certified the synthetic fuel in cold weather as a means to reduce the Air Force's dependence on imported fuel. With the wind chill factor, Minot experienced temperatures of minus 25 degrees during the test. (AFNEWS, "B-52 Tests Synthetic Fuel During Cold Weather," 30 Jan 2007.) The USAF released a request for proposal for a replacement tanker aircraft. That proposal for the KC-X replacement tanker became the USAF's number 1 acquisition priority. (Air Mobility Command Historical Highlights, 2007)
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Some True Facts from Barrel. Interesting --
Too many to list.....
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