Good Sunday Morning March 14 .
I hope that the time change is not got you down
Regards,
Skip.
Today in Naval History
March 14
1863—A squadron of ships led by Rear Adm. David G. Farragut passes the heavy batteries at Port Hudson, LA, to establish blockade of Red River supply lines during the Civil War. USS Mississippi becomes grounded, catches fire and blows up, killing 64.
1929—During the Elba, Alabama, flooding, Navy planes from Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL, make 113 flights carrying relief supplies and conducting rescues to flooded towns in southern Alabama and western Florida.
1945—USS Cotten (DD 669) and USS Dortch (DD 670) sink the Japanese guardboats Futa Maru and No.17 Kaiko Maru off the Bonin Islands.
1945—USS Bream (SS 243) sinks the Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Kihin Maru in the Java Sea, south of Borneo. Also on this date, USS Trepang (SS 412) sinks the Japanese guard boat Kaiko Maru off Inubo Saki, Japan.
1945—During the Battle for Iwo Jima, Marine Pvt. George Phillips and Pvt. Franklin E. Sigler each perform acts of "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life." Both are awarded Medals of Honor; Phillips receives his posthumously.
1964—USS Sacramento (AOE 1) is commissioned at Seattle, WA. She is the first-of-class Combat Supply Ship that combines the characteristics of an oiler, ammunition and supply ship.
This day in History March 14
1629 A Royal charter is granted to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1743 First American town meeting is held at Boston's Faneuil Hall.
1757 British Admiral John Byng is executed by a firing squad on board HMS Monarch for neglect of duty.
1794 Inventor Eli Whitney receives a patent for his cotton gin.
1900 United States currency goes on the gold standard.
1903 The Senate ratifies the Hay-Herran Treaty, guaranteeing the United States the right to build a canal in Panama.
1912 An anarchist named Antonio Dalba unsuccessfully attempts to kill Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III in Rome.
1915 The British Navy sinks the German battleship Dresden off the Chilean coast.
1918 An all-Russian Congress of Soviets ratifies a peace treaty with the Central Powers.
1923 President Warren G. Harding becomes the first U.S. President to file an income tax report.
1936 Adolf Hitler tells a crowd of 300,000 that Germany's only judge is God and itself.
1939 The Nazis dissolve the republic of Czechoslovakia.
1943 The Germans reoccupy Kharkov in the Soviet Union.
1947 The United States signs a 99-year lease on naval bases in the Philippines.
1951 U.N. forces recapture Seoul for the second time during the Korean War.
1954 The Viet Minh launch an assault against the French Colonial Forces at Dien Bien Phu.
1964 A Dallas jury finds Jack Ruby guilty of the murder of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
1967 John F. Kennedy's body is moved from a temporary grave to a permanent one in Arlington Cemetery.
1978 An Israeli force of 22,000 invades south Lebanon, hitting the PLO bases.
1990 Mikhail S. Gorbachev becomes president of the Soviet Congress.
1991 The "Birmingham Six," imprisoned for 16 years for their alleged part in an IRA pub bombing, are set free after a court agrees that the police fabricated evidence.
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Thanks to Mike
Skip, I read with interest the paragraphs on electrical cars. I agree with some of the points the author made, like infrastructure costs, household capacity, taxes for roads. The gentleman says he's an engineer, that he may be, but he is not one to verify what he writes. A few errors:
Electrical costs: he quotes his average electrical cost per KWH is $1.16. I'm not sure where he lives, but not in the United states. A little research shows the following: (source: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a)
In Kansas, I pay 12.22 cents
Your California average is 20.45 cents, Washington is 9.77 cents
Cheapest contiguous 48 states, Oklahoma at 8.88, most expensive is Rhode Island at 22.59
Nationwide average is 12.80
Redoing his math, nationwide average cost to charge is 12.80 X 16 = $2.05. For you Californians it is 20.14 X 16 = $3.27. That's a far cry from his $18.56 in whatever nation he lives in (Certainly not the USA). I think he misplaced a decimal. His quoted cost is about 10 times what everyone else pays.
I kinda get the impression this gentleman is from Canada. Here's statistics on Canadian electrical costs:
Canada electricity prices Household, kWh Business, kWh
Canadian Dollar 0.138 0.111
U.S. Dollar 0.109 0.988
Canada, June 2020: The price of electricity is 0.109 U.S. Dollar per kWh for households and 0.088 U.S. Dollar for businesses which includes all components of the electricity bill such as the cost of power, distribution and taxes. For comparison, the average price of electricity in the world for that period is 0.138 U.S. Dollar per kWh for households and 0.122 U.S. Dollar for businesses.
(Source: https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/Canada/electricity_prices/)
Recharging: Car and Driver in a test of a 2019 model indicates yes, if you just use a 120V outlet, gawd, it takes a long time. However, almost everyone would install a 240V charger in their residence:
"The Volt uses a newly available 7.2-kW built-in charger that significantly reduces charging time. While it still needs 13 hours to fully recharge its battery using a standard 120-volt household outlet, the larger charger will refill the battery in two hours and 20 minutes with a 240-volt outlet. The same task takes 4.5 hours using the standard 3.6-kW charger."
(source: https://www.caranddriver.com/chevrolet/volt)
Gas mileage and electric range: Again from the Car and Driver test, electric range was 37 miles. Gas-only was 39 MPG
Car and Driver said the top of the line model was $38,995, base was $34,345. Been nice if the author could have told us which $25,000 car he was comparing too. BTW, the Volt was discontinued in 2019.
To his statement "It will take you 4.5 hours to drive 270 miles at 60 mph. Then add 10 hours to charge the battery and you have a total trip time of 14.5 hours. In a typical road trip your average speed (including charging time) would be 20 mph." He misses the point entirely about hybrid cars. They are designed primarily for the local commute (what most of us do). On a long trip: stop at a gas station and fill up. At 35MPG with a 9 gallon tank (let's call it 8 gallons to reduce the pucker factor) you could drive 280 miles (right on his 4.5 hours). That's about right for a pee break.
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Thanks to Mike,
Remember today, Sunday 3/14 is Pi Day. To celebrate Pi Day, I suggest drawing a circle and dividing it by the diameter. You should be able to get the attached answer. Remember to show all work.
http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/~huberty/math5337/groupe/digits.html
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Worth Repeating
Thanks to Fingers The Tailhook Association
Calling all Tail Hookers
Attention to brief!
I'd make a guess that the majority of "ya'll" out there are (or at one time were) a Tailhook Assn. (THA) member. However, what I don't know is how many of you are still active members of the THA. If you are now an active member, good on you and thanks. If you aren't now an active member - either because you never did join (shame on you) or you were a member in the past and just let your membership lapse - please seriously consider joining THA or renewing your membership today.
We're all products of naval aviation training and naval aviation service and the THA needs our membership support now more than ever. The THA - a fraternal, non-profit organization - depends on a solid active membership base to carry out its mission to educate and inform the public of the proper role of the aircraft carrier and carrier aviation in the national defense system - and to keep the naval aviation legacy (our legacy) alive for future generations. We all wouldn't be who we are today without having been a part naval aviation. In addition to helping the THA membership grow and prosper you will receive the quarterly Hook magazine - which is a world class periodical with both historic and current stories about naval aviation.
Membership is not that expensive - most of us probably spill more at the bar over the course of a membership than it costs to sign up - 1 yr ($45), 3yr ($120), 5 yr ($195) or the most economical deal - a lifetime membership. For those over 59 (which includes all of us) you can get an age prorated discount by calling 1-800-322-4665. With lifetime membership you don't ever again have to worry about renewing. Do it now - before you forget. And, if you know of other "lost sheep" Bubbas who aren't a THA member, please pass this along to them.
Also, if you haven't yet been to a Tailhook Reunion in Reno, give it a thought. The THA was in "very heavy buffet" and almost "departed completely" following the 1991 TH Reunion in Las Vegas. However, almost three decades later through the dedicated efforts of a lot of folks (too numerous to list) THA is still alive. The pre-1991"no holds barred" TH Reunions (by necessity) are no more. The changing mores of society and the rise of the PC culture dictated that. However, the current Reno TH Reunions are very professionally conducted - maybe more so than ever. You can still lose your shirt at the crap tables and there are still hospitality suites where you can drink, mingle with the JOs and "shoot down you watch" with your shipmates - all the while regaling each other with "sea stories" about how great we used to be. And the contractors still give away some neat "swag." Some things never change. So, sign up or renew now! And, come to Reno.
Now, while I have your ear, let me also appeal to your "philanthropic spirit" and call your attention to the Tailhook Education Foundation (TEF) - upon whose BOD I currently serve. TEF is a charitable non-profit 501 3 (c) corporation affiliated with and supportive of the THA. Each year TEF awards 100 merit based scholarships (ranging from $2,500 to $15K) to qualified applicants who are children/grandchildren of current or former USN,USMC,USCG Naval Aviators, NFOs, or Aircrewmen. The children/grandchildren of individuals who have served aboard a Navy aircraft carrier are also eligible to apply. Contributions to TEF are tax deductible. So, if you are looking for a tax right-off and are interested in investing in America's future, I urge you to consider TEF as the recipient of your "largesse." You can go on the THA/TEF web site www.tailhook.net to find out more about the various ways to contribute to TEF. Please think about it.
OK, now we hope to see those memberships/renewals and TEF donations start rolling in soon. Thanks.
Check Six,
"Fingers"
Even if you are not a tailhooker the quarterly Magazine is a great read with a lot of history and current status of Naval Aviation.
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ROLLING THUNDER Thanks to the Bear
Sunday, 14 March 2021... Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
LOOKING BACK 55-YEARS to the Vietnam Air War—14 March 1966...
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com "A tale told by Hugh Magee (RIP)"
http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/rolling-thunder-remembered-14-march-1966/
Vietnam Air Losses
Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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This Day in U S Military History 14 March
1942 – The 172-foot tender CGC Acacia was en route from Curacao, Netherlands West Indies to Antigua, British West Indies, when she was sunk by shellfire from the German submarine U-
161. The entire crew of Acacia was rescued. She was the only Coast Guard buoy tender sunk by enemy action during the war.
1942 – Large numbers of American troops arrive in Australia.
1945 – The US 12th Corps (part of US 3rd Army) launches attacks southeast over the Moselle River, near Koblenz, and US 20th Corps expands its attacks from between Trier and Saarburg. To the north, US 1st Army continues to expand the Remagen bridgehead despite German counterattacks.
1
1946 – For the first time, U.S. Coast Guard aircraft supplemented the work of the Coast Guard patrol vessels of the International Ice Patrol, scouting for ice and determining the limits of the ice fields from the air.
1965 – Twenty-four South Vietnamese Air Force planes, led by Vice-Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky and supported by U.S. jets, bomb the barracks and depots on Con Co ("Tiger") Island, 20 miles off the coast of North Vietnam. The next day, 100 U.S. Air Force jets and carrier-based bombers struck the ammunition depot at Phu Qui, 100 miles south of Hanoi. This was the second set of raids in Operation Rolling Thunder and the first in which U.S. planes used napalm. Operation Rolling Thunder was a result of President Lyndon B. Johnson's decision in February to undertake the sustained bombing of North Vietnam that he and his advisers had been contemplating for a year. The operation was designed to interdict North Vietnamese transportation routes in the southern part of North Vietnam and slow infiltration of personnel and supplies into South Vietnam. In July 1966, Rolling Thunder was expanded to include the bombing of North Vietnamese ammunition dumps and oil storage facilities, and in the spring of 1967, it was further expanded to include power plants, factories, and airfields in the Hanoi-Haiphong area. The White House closely controlled operation Rolling Thunder and President Johnson sometimes personally selected the targets. From 1965 to 1968, about 643,000 tons of bombs were dropped on North Vietnam. A total of nearly 900 U.S. aircraft were lost during Operation Rolling Thunder. The operation continued, with occasional suspensions, until President Johnson, under increasing domestic political pressure, halted it on October 31, 1968.
1966 – Establishment of River Squadron Five in Vietnam.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
VANTINE, JOSEPH E.
Rank and organization: First Class Fireman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1835, Philadelphia, Pa. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 17, 10 July 1863. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Richmond in the attack on Port Hudson, 14 March 1863. Damaged by a 6_inch solid rifle shot which shattered the starboard safety_valve chamber and also damaged the port safety valve, the fireroom of the Richmond immediately filled with steam to place it in an extremely critical condition. Acting courageously in this crisis, Vantine persisted in penetrating the steam_filled room in order to haul the hot fires of the furnaces and continued this action until the gravity of the situation had been lessened.
VAUGHN, PINKERTON R.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 1839, Downingtown, Pa. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 17, 10 July 1863. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Mississippi during her abandonment and firing in the action with the Port Hudson batteries, 14 March 1863. During the abandonment of the Mississippi which had to be grounded, Sgt. Vaughn rendered invaluable assistance to his commanding officer, remaining with the ship until all the crew had landed and the ship had been fired to prevent its falling into enemy hands. Persistent until the last, and conspicuously cool under the heavy shellfire, Sgt. Vaughn was finally ordered to save himself as he saw fit.
*MICHAEL, HARRY J.
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company L, 318th Infantry, 80th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Neiderzerf, Germany, 14 March 1945. Entered service at: Milford, Ind. Birth: Milford, Ind. G.O. No.: 18, 13 February 1946. Citation: He was serving as a rifle platoon leader when his company began an assault on a wooded ridge northeast of the village of Neiderzerf, Germany, early on 13 March 1945. A short distance up the side of the hill, 2d Lt. Michael, at the head of his platoon, heard the click of an enemy machinegun bolt. Quietly halting the company, he silently moved off into the woods and discovered 2 enemy machineguns and crews. Executing a sudden charge, he completely surprised the enemy and captured the guns and crews. At daybreak, enemy voices were heard in the thick woods ahead. Leading his platoon in a flanking movement, they charged the enemy with hand grenades and, after a bitter fight, captured 25 members of an SS mountain division, 3 artillery pieces, and 20 horses. While his company was establishing its position, 2d Lt. Michael made 2 personal reconnaissance missions of the wood on his left flank. On his first mission he killed 2, wounded 4, and captured 6 enemy soldiers single-handedly. On the second mission he captured 7 prisoners. During the afternoon he led his platoon on a frontal assault of a line of enemy pillboxes, successfully capturing the objective, killing 10 and capturing 30 prisoners. The following morning the company was subjected to sniper fire and 2d Lt. Michael, in an attempt to find the hidden sniper, was shot and killed. The inspiring leadership and heroic aggressiveness displayed by 2d Lt. Michael upheld the highest traditions of the military service.
*PHILLIPS, GEORGE
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born 14 July 1926, Rich Hill, Mo. Entered service at: Labadie, Mo. Citation. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 2d Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the seizure of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, on 14 March 1945. Standing the foxhole watch while other members of his squad rested after a night of bitter handgrenade fighting against infiltrating Japanese troops, Pvt. Phillips was the only member of his unit alerted when an enemy handgrenade was tossed into their midst. Instantly shouting a warning, he unhesitatingly threw himself on the deadly missile, absorbing the shattering violence of the exploding charge in his own body and protecting his comrades from serious injury. Stouthearted and indomitable, Pvt. Phillips willingly yielded his own life that his fellow marines might carry on the relentless battle against a fanatic enemy. His superb valor and unfaltering spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of certain death reflect the highest credit upon himself and upon the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
KERREY, JOSEPH R.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, Junior Grade, U.S. Naval Reserve, Sea, Air, and Land Team (SEAL). place and date: Near Nha Trang Bay, Republic of Vietnam, 14 March 1969. Entered service at: Omaha, Nebr. Born: 27 August 1943, Lincoln, Nebr. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a SEAL team leader during action against enemy aggressor (Viet Cong) forces. Acting in response to reliable intelligence, Lt. (J.G..) Kerrey led his SEAL team on a mission to capture important members of the enemy's area political cadre known to be located on an island in the bay of Nha Trang. In order to surprise the enemy, he and his team scaled a 350-foot sheer cliff to place themselves above the ledge on which the enemy was located. Splitting his team in 2 elements and coordinating both, Lt. (J.G..) Kerrey led his men in the treacherous downward descent to the enemy's camp. Just as they neared the end of their descent, intense enemy fire was directed at them, and Lt. (J.G.) Kerrey received massive injuries from a grenade which exploded at his feet and threw him backward onto the jagged rocks. Although bleeding profusely and suffering great pain, he displayed outstanding courage and presence of mind in immediately directing his element's fire into the heart of the enemy camp. Utilizing his radioman, Lt. (J.G.) Kerrey called in the second element's fire support which caught the confused Viet Cong in a devastating crossfire. After successfully suppressing the enemy's fire, and although immobilized by his multiple wounds, he continued to maintain calm, superlative control as he ordered his team to secure and defend an extraction site. Lt. (J.G.) Kerrey resolutely directed his men, despite his near unconscious state, until he was eventually evacuated by helicopter. The havoc brought to the enemy by this very successful mission cannot be over-estimated. The enemy soldiers who were captured provided critical intelligence to the allied effort. Lt. (J.G.) Kerrey's courageous and inspiring leadership, valiant fighting spirit, and tenacious devotion to duty in the face of almost overwhelming opposition sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for March 14, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
14 March
1915: Lincoln Beachey, world-famous stunt flyer, died at the San Francisco Exposition. He was pulling out of a dive, when the wings broke off from his monoplane's fuselage. (24)
1918: The 1st Pursuit Group engaged in its first activities in France, when an element of two pilots from the 95th Pursuit Squadron went on patrol. (24)
1945: In cooperation with Soviets, Fifteenth Air Force bombers based in Italy attacked tactical targets selected by the Soviets target planners in Austria, Hungary, and Yugoslavia. (24)
1956: First Jupiter A (Redstone missile) launched from Cape Canaveral. (6) (24)
1966: Aeronautical Systems Division announced the awarding of $2 million in study contracts to develop an avionic subsystem for the Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft (AMSA), a long-range versatile bomber that later became the B-1. (16)
1970: Two A-7D Corsair IIs flew 3,502 unrefueled miles from Edwards AFB to Homestead AFB, Fla, to show its capabilities. (3)
1976: From the Eastern Test Range, a Titan IIIC, launched Lincoln Experimental Satellites 8 & 9 and Solar Radiation Satellites 11A and B (SOLRAD 11A/B) for the Space Test Program. (5)
1980: Through 4 April, participants from PACAF flew over 7,500 sorties in Team Spirit 1980. (16)
1988: In ceremonies at Greenville, Texas, E-Systems Inc. unveiled the new MC-130H Combat Talon II special operations airlifter. The Air Force planned to use aircraft for special operations units to infiltrate/exfiltrate troops and resupply behind enemy lines at night or in poor weather. (8)
1990: Sikorsky rolled out the Army's first MH-60K Special Operations Helicopter at Stratford. [8: May 90]
2001: An Army CH-47 Chinook released the X-40A at 15,000 feet successfully for its first free flight and autonomous landing at Edwards AFB. (3)
2003: An AFFTC team conducted the first Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) system test on the KC-10 Extender. The GATM would modernize the tanker fleet to operate in Future Air Navigation Systems (FANS) airspace around the world. (3) Through 19 March, AFFTC accelerated a dual-door separation test to give the F-117A a wider envelope for dropping the EGU-27 laser guided bomb. AFFTC then communicated the results and recommendations to F-117s in the Middle East, and within hours they used the tactic in the opening phases of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. (3)
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Military Milestones from Guilford Courthouse to Iraq by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
This Week in American Military History:
Mar. 14, 1951: United Nations forces under the command of U.S. Army Gen.
Matthew B. Ridgeway recapture Seoul, Korea.
Mar. 15, 1781: British Army forces under the command of Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis march toward a pyrrhic victory over Continental Army and militia forces commanded by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene at Guilford Courthouse (near present-day Greensboro), N.C.
Once engaged, the two armies fight for less than two hours. Tactically, it ends in a victory for Cornwallis, who drives Greene's forces from the field. But British losses are heavy.
Cornwallis will purportedly say, "I never saw such fighting since God made me. The Americans fought like demons." When word of Guilford Courthouse reaches London, Parliamentarian Charles James Fox will declare: "Another such victory would ruin the British army!"
Cornwallis' entire army will surrender to the combined American-French forces of Generals George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau at Yorktown, Virginia, Oct. 19, almost seven months to the day after Guilford Courthouse.
Mar. 15, 1916: As World War I rages in Europe, a U.S. Army expeditionary force under the command of Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing crosses into Mexico in pursuit of the bandit, Pancho Villa.
Though Villa will not be captured (he will be assassinated in 1923), the expedition will serve as both a proving ground for new American weapons systems and a combat-campaign prep school for many of the officers and men destined for European fighting in 1918.
Pershing – nicknamed "Black Jack" because of his command of black soldiers in the late 19th century – will ultimately command the American Expeditionary Force in World War I.
Mar. 16, 1802: Pres. Thomas Jefferson signs into law the establishment of a corps of engineers, which "shall be stationed at West Point in the State of New York and shall constitute a Military Academy." The United States Military Academy is born.
George Washington, Henry Knox, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and others "desiring to eliminate America's wartime reliance on foreign engineers and artillerists, [had] urged the creation of an institution devoted to the arts and sciences of warfare," according to the official West Point website.
Mar. 16, 1945: Though Japanese resistance will continue for several more days, Iwo Jima is declared secure.
The following day, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander-in-chief of the U.S.
Pacific Fleet, will issue his now-famous communiqué:
"The battle of Iwo [Jima] Island has been won. The United States Marines by their individual and collective courage have conquered a base which is as necessary to us in our continuing forward movement toward final victory as it was vital to the enemy in staving off ultimate defeat. … Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue."
Mar. 17, 1776: British forces under the command of Gen. Sir William Howe begin evacuating Boston after Howe reluctantly concludes that the American artillery positions atop Boston's commanding Dorchester Heights are "impregnable."
Mar. 18, 1945: Some 1,250 American bombers and their fighter escorts roar toward Berlin in one of the U.S. Army Air Forces' "heaviest" bombing raids on the German capitol.
The Nazis are finished. In six weeks, Adolf Hitler will commit suicide.
Mar. 18, 1945: Adm. Marc A. Mitscher's Fast Carrier "Task Force 58" begins a several-day series of attacks on Japanese bases at Kyushu, Honshu, and Shikoku in preparation for the forthcoming Okinawa campaign. The enemy will mount a counterattack, but with only moderate effect. Japanese losses of shore facilities, aircraft, and men will be heavy.
In less than two years, Mitscher will die of a heart attack. Adm. Arleigh Burke will remember him as "the preeminent carrier force commander in the world. A bulldog of a fighter, a strategist blessed with an uncanny ability to foresee his enemy's next move, and a lifelong searcher after truth and trout streams, he was above all else – perhaps above all other – a Naval aviator."
Mar. 19, 1916: Four days after "Black Jack" Pershing crosses into Mexico, the U.S. Army's 1st Aero Squadron under Capt. (future major general) Benjamin D. Foulois joins the hunt for Pancho Villa. Though Foulois'
aircraft will be used primarily for observation and delivery of dispatches, the squadron will be the first to test tactical air support of ground forces.
Today, the U.S. Air Force's 1st Reconnaissance Squadron traces its lineage back to the 1st Aero Squadron.
Mar. 19, 2003: U.S. and coalition air and sea forces fire the opening shots in the invasion of Iraq.
Mar. 20, 1863: Confederate cavalry under the command of the famous – some might argue, infamous – Kentucky raider, Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan, strikes a sizeable Union reconnaissance force under Col. Albert S. Hall at Vaught's Hill, Tennessee. Though outnumbered and surrounded, Hall's hilltop position enables the colonel to beat back a series of attacks until Morgan – learning that Hall is to be reinforced with additional U.S. troops from Murfreesboro – is forced to disengage.
Though Vaught's Hill was a defeat for Morgan, he was far from whipped. His colorful exploits will inspire Constance Fenimore Woolson, a grandniece of James Fenimore Cooper, to pen the lines:
"Morgan, Morgan the raider, and Morgan's terrible men, With bowie knives and pistols, are galloping up the glen."
Mar. 20, 1922: America's first aircraft carrier, USS Langley, is commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia. Converted from the coaling ship USS Jupiter, Langley will see action in World War II. But she will be so badly damaged in an action off Java in 1942, her escorts will be forced to scuttle her.
Langley, the first of two so-named carriers, is named in honor of aviation scientist Samuel Pierpont Langley.
Mar. 20, 1942: U.S. Army Gen. Douglas McArthur – ordered by FDR to leave his besieged soldiers in the Philippines (where their capture is
inevitable) and make his way to Australia – delivers his famous "I shall return" speech. In April he will receive the Medal of Honor (as did his father, Arthur MacArthur, Jr., for heroism during the American Civil War).
McArthur will return to the Philippines in Oct. 1944.
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Thanks to Micro
Children Are So Honest
As I was nursing my baby, my cousin's six-year-old daughter, Krissy, came into the room. Never having seen anyone breast feed before, she was intrigued and full of all kinds of questions about what I was doing. After mulling over my answers, she remarked, "My mom has some of those, but I don't think she knows how to use them."
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Out bicycling one day with my eight-year-old granddaughter, Carolyn, I got a little wistful. "In ten years," I said, "you'll want to be with your friends and you won't go walking, biking, and swimming with me like you do now. Carolyn shrugged. "In ten years you'll be too old to do all those things anyway."
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Working as a pediatric nurse, I had the difficult assignment of giving immunization shots to children. One day, I entered the examining room to give four-year-old Lizzie her injection. "No, no, no!" she screamed. "Lizzie," scolded her mother, "that's not polite behavior." With that, the girl yelled even louder, "No, thank you! No, thank you! No, thank you!"
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On the way back from a Cub Scout meeting, my grandson innocently said to my son, "Dad, I know babies come from mommie's tummies, but how do they get there in the first place?" After my son hemmed and hawed awhile, my grandson finally spoke up in disgust, "You don't have to make up something, Dad. It's okay if you don't know the answer."
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Just before I was deployed to Iraq, I sat my eight-year-old son down and broke the news to him. "I'm going to be away for a long time," I told him. "I'm going to Iraq." "Why?" he asked. "Don't you know there's a war going on over there?"
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Paul Newman founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children stricken with cancer, AIDS, and blood diseases. One afternoon, he and his wife, Joanne Woodward, stopped by to have lunch with the kids. A counselor at a nearby table, suspecting the young patients wouldn't know Newman was a famous movie star, explained, "That's the man who made this camp possible. Maybe you've seen his picture on his salad dressing bottle?"
Blank stares
"Well, you've probably seen his face on his lemonade carton." An eight-year-old girl perked up. "How long was he missing?"
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God's Problem Now!
His wife's graveside service was just barely finished, when there was a massive clap of thunder, followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder rumbling in the distance. The little, old man looked at the pastor and calmly said, "Well, she's there."
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