TheList 5736

The List 5736     TGB

Good Saturday Morning June 5

 

I hope you all have a great weekend.

.

Regards

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Today in Naval History

June 5

1794 The first officers of the U.S. Navy under the new United States Constitution are appointed: John Barry, Samuel Nicholson, Silas Talbot, Joshua Barney, Richard Dale, and Thomas Truxtun. They are also asked to supervise the construction of new ships.

 

1917 USS Jupiter (AC 3), which transports the First Naval Aeronautical Detachment, arrives at Pauillac, France prior to World War I. The men are commanded by Lt. Kenneth Whiting. Offloading is completed by June 10. USS Jupiter (AC 1) is later converted into the Navys first aircraft carrier USS Langley (CV 1).

 

1944 USS Puffer (SS 268) attacks a Japanese convoy in the Sulu Sea and sinks underway replenishment vessel Ashizuri and oiler Takasaki while also damaging tanker No.2 Hishi Maru, north-east of Borneo. Also on this date, USS Shark (SS 314) sinks Japanese transport Tamahime Maru and army transport Takaoka Maru west of the Mariana Islands.

 

1945 A typhoon hits while Task Group 38.1 and Task Group 30.8 are off the coast of Okinawa. Task Group 38.1 passes through the eye of the storm at 7 a.m. that morning. Hurricane force winds of 70 knots (80.5 miles per hour), with gusts up to 100 knots (115 per hour) damage almost every ship in the task groups.

 

2013 USNS Millinocket (JHSV 3) is launched in Mobile, Ala. The Joint High Speed Vessel is a non-combatant transport operated by Military Sealift Command.

 

 

 

Today in History June 5

1099		Members of the First Crusade witness an eclipse of the moon and interpret it as a sign they will recapture Jerusalem.
1568		Ferdinand, the Duke of Alba, crushes the Calvinist insurrection in Ghent.
1595		Henry IV's army defeats the Spanish at the Battle of Fontaine-Francaise.
1637		American settlers in New England massacre a Pequot Indian village.
1783		Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier make the first public balloon flight.
1794		The U.S. Congress prohibits citizens from serving in any foreign armed forces.
1827		Athens falls to Ottoman forces.
1851		Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes the first installment of Uncle Tom's Cabin in The National Era.
1856		U.S. Army troops in the Four creeks region of California, head back to quarters, officially ending the Tule River War. Fighting, however, will continue for a few more years.
1863		The Confederate raider CSS Alabama captures the Talisman in the Mid-Atlantic.
1872		The Republican National Convention, the first major political party convention to include blacks, commences.
1880		Wild woman of the west Myra Maybelle Shirley marries Sam Starr even though records show she was already married to Bruce Younger.
1900		British troops under Lord Roberts seize Pretoria from the Boers.
1940		The German army begins its offensive in Southern France.
1944		The first B-29 bombing raid strikes the Japanese rail line in Bangkok, Thailand.
1947		Secretary of State George C. Marshall outlines "The Marshall Plan," a program intended to assist European nations, including former enemies, to rebuild their economies.
1956		Premier Nikita Khrushchev denounces Josef Stalin to the Soviet Communist Party Congress.
1967		The Six-Day War between Israel and Egypt, Syria and Jordan begins.
1968		Sirhan Sirhan shoots Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy after Kennedy's victory in the pivotal California primary election.
1973		Doris A. Davis becomes the first African-American woman to govern a city in a major metropolitan area when she is elected mayor of Compton, California.
2004		Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan dies at age 93. Reagan was the 40th president of the United States.

 

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Luck and Guts: The Heroes of Midway 

If not for men like Wade McClusky, the Battle of Midway could have been another Japanese victory. 

by GEOFFREY NORMAN

June 4, 2019, 12:18 AM 

Wade McClusky (Wikimedia Commons)

 

https://spectator.org/luck-and-guts-the-heroes-of-midway/

 

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Great memories here. In San Diego we had a lot of Pilots and Stews living here. In fact I had a roommate who was a young Captain for PSA and used to fly the Red eye a lot.

 

Great stories of how Southwest Airlines got going, and flourished!!

 

Hot Pants, Love Potions, and the Go-go Genesis of Southwest Airlines – Texas Monthly

 

 

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A couple notes from Barrett.

If anyone has some info     send it to me and I will forward it to him

sleonard001@san.rr.com

 

G'day Skip:

MINOR point ref. Midway.

 

Since the war, conventional wisdom held that the SBDs rolled in while the Japanese were fueling-arming planes on deck.  The bible is Parshall and Tully's "Shattered Sword" based on IJN primary sources.  SOP usually was to arm Kates/Vals/etc on hangar decks to keep cycling the flight decks.  Some SBD pilots noted planes on deck but those were Zeros slated to reinforce the CAP.

 

Dick Best's historic hit on the flagship Akagi went into the sweet spot: smashed thru the flight deck and exploded on a fully loaded torpedo plane below.

 

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I'm looking at Operation Pocket Money and the subsequent mine clearing ops.  My extraordinary Vietnamese source just sent a translation of an NVA/naval history saying that the Yankee Air Pirates sowed thousands of mines in NVN waters as early as 67.  I cannot find any USN chronology or history confirming that claim although I think the JCS recommended it from 64 or so.  But I wonder if TF77 CVs even embarked mines throughout the war unless as a rare contingency.

 

I'd appreciate hearing from any Bubbas with comments on the subject.

 

As ever. Barrett

 

 

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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear

LOOKING BACK 55-YEARS to the Vietnam Air War— ... For The List for Saturday, 5 June 2021... Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻

 

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-968)

From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post of 5 June 1966...

6,400 academic doves buy 3-pages of the NYT to protest the war...

 

https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/rolling-thunder-remembered-5-june-1966-6400-doves/

 

 

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.

 

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This Day in U S Military History……. June 5

 

1637 – The English and their Mohegan allies slaughtered as many as 600 Pequot Indians [in the area of Connecticut]. The survivors were parceled out to other tribes. Those given to the Mohegans eventually became the Mashantucket Pequots. American settlers in New England massacred a Pequot Indian village.

 

1794 – First officers of the U.S. Navy under the Constitution are appointed. The first 6 captains appointed to superintend the construction of new ships were John Barry, Samuel Nicholson, Silas Talbot, Joshua Barney, Richard Dale, and Thomas Truxtun.

 

1848 – Army officer John C. Fremont submitted his "Geographical Memoir" to the US Senate where the SF Bay entrance was called Chrysopylae (Golden Gate). He had in mind the Chrysoceras (Golden Horn) of Constantinople, and suggested that the SF Bay would be advantageous for commerce.

 

1943 – The L.A. Zoot Suit Riot continues with attacks on all "pachuco"-looking males. A group of musicians leaving the Aztec Recording Company on Third and Main Streets are attacked. Attorney Manuel Ruíz and other Mexican American professionals meet with city officials. Carey McWilliams calls California Attorney General Robert Kenny to encourage Governor Earl Warren to appoint an investigatory commission.

1944 – Allied airborne troops embark for Normandy just before midnight. The convoys carrying the Allied Expeditionary Force are nearing France.

1944 – The BBC broadcasts a second message, intended for the French Resistance, warning of the imminent invasion. Again, the significance of the message is noted by German authorities but the 7th Army in Normandy is not alerted.

 

1944 – Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote a note to be issued in case the D-Day invasion turned out to be a failure: "Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold, and I have withdrawn the troops." The note was [apparently misdated] dated July 5.

 

1944 – More than 1,000 British bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries placed at the Normandy assault area, while 3,000 Allied ships cross the English Channel in preparation for the invasion of Normandy-D-Day. The day of the invasion of occupied France had been postponed repeatedly since May, mostly because of bad weather and the enormous tactical obstacles involved. Finally, despite less than ideal weather conditions-or perhaps because of them-General Eisenhower decided on June 5 to set the next day as D-Day, the launch of the largest amphibious operation in history. Ike knew that the Germans would be expecting postponements beyond the sixth, precisely because weather conditions were still poor. Among those Germans confident that an Allied invasion could not be pulled off on the sixth was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who was still debating tactics with Field Marshal Karl Rundstedt. Runstedt was convinced that the Allies would come in at the narrowest point of the Channel, between Calais and Dieppe; Rommel, following Hitler's intuition, believed it would be Normandy. Rommel's greatest fear was that German air inferiority would prevent an adequate defense on the ground; it was his plan to meet the Allies on the coast-before the Allies had a chance to come ashore. Rommel began constructing underwater obstacles and minefields, and set off for Germany to demand from Hitler personally more panzer divisions in the area. Bad weather and an order to conserve fuel grounded much of the German air force on June 5; consequently, its reconnaissance flights were spotty. That night, more than 1,000 British bombers unleashed a massive assault on German gun batteries on the coast. At the same time, an Allied armada headed for the Normandy beaches in Operation Neptune, an attempt to capture the port at Cherbourg. But that was not all. In order to deceive the Germans, phony operations were run; dummy parachutists and radar-jamming devices were dropped into strategically key areas so as to make German radar screens believe there was an Allied convoy already on the move. One dummy parachute drop succeeded in drawing an entire German infantry regiment away from its position just six miles from the actual Normandy landing beaches. All this effort was to scatter the German defenses and make way for Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy.

 

1945 – On Okinawa, Japanese forces on the Oroku peninsula strongly resist the US 6th Marine Division which nonetheless captures most of the airfield. In the south the forces of the US 24th Corps near the last Japanese defensive line, running from Yuza in the west to Guschichan on the east coast and based on the three hills, Yaeju, Yuza and Mezado. At sea, a sudden typhoon damages 4 battleships, 8 aircraft carriers, 7 cruisers, 14 destroyers, 2 tankers, and an ammunition transport ship, of the US 3rd Fleet. A Japanese Kamikaze attack cripples the battleship USS Mississippi and the heavy cruiser USS Louisville.

 

1945 – On Luzon, the US 37th Division (US 1st Corps) occupy Aritao and advance northward from the town.

 

1989 – Chinese soldiers slaughtered pro-democracy students at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. In one of the most remembered images of China's crushed pro-democracy movement, a lone man stood defiantly in front of a line of tanks in Beijing until friends pulled him out of the way. In 2001 "The Tiananmen Papers," a book based on classified documents smuggled out of China, was published. Zhang Liang was the pseudonym of the compiler.

 

2004 – Ronald Reagan (b.1911), US president (1981-1989), died in California after a long twilight struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

 

AVERY, WILLIAM B.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 1st New York Marine Artillery. Place and date: At Tranters Creek, N.C., 5 June 1862. Entered service at: Providence, R.I. Born: 10 September 1840, Providence, R.I. Date of issue: 2 September 1893. Citation: Handled his battery with greatest coolness amidst the hottest fire.

 

BEATTY, ALEXANDER M.
Rank and organization: Captain, Company F, 3d Vermont Infantry. Place and date: At Cold Harbor, Va., 5 June 1864. Entered service at: Vermont. Born: 29 July 1828, Ryegate, Vt. Date of issue: 25 April 1894. Citation: Removed, under a hot fire, a wounded member of his command to a place of safety.

 

EVANS, THOMAS
Rank and organization: Private, Company D, 54th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Piedmont, Va., 5 June 1864. Entered service at: Cambria County, Pa. Birth: Wales. Date of issue: 26 November 1864. Citation: Capture of flag of 45th Virginia (C.S.A.).

 

HUNTERSON, JOHN C.
Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry. Place and date: On the Peninsula, Va., 5 June 1862. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 2 August 1897. Citation: While under fire, between the lines of the 2 armies, voluntarily gave up his own horse to an engineer officer whom he was accompanying on a reconnaissance and whose horse had been killed, thus enabling the officer to escape with valuable papers in his possession.

 

SNEDDEN, JAMES
Rank and organization: Musician, Company E, 54th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Piedmont, Va., 5 June 1864. Entered service at: Johnstown, Pa. Birth: Scotland. Dates of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Left his place in the rear, took the rifle of a disabled soldier, and fought through the remainder of the action.

 

STAHEL, JULIUS
Rank and organization: Major General, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: At Piedmont, Va., 5 June 1864. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Born: 5 November 1825, Hungary. Date of issue: 4 November 1893. Citation: Led his division into action until he was severely wounded.

 

*FLEMING, RICHARD E.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 2 November 1917, St. Paul, Minn. Appointed from: Minnesota. Citation: For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty as Flight Officer, Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 241, during action against enemy Japanese forces in the battle of Midway on 4 and 5 June 1942. When his Squadron Commander was shot down during the initial attack upon an enemy aircraft carrier, Capt. Fleming led the remainder of the division with such fearless determination that he dived his own plane to the perilously low altitude of 400 feet before releasing his bomb. Although his craft was riddled by 179 hits in the blistering hail of fire that burst upon him from Japanese fighter guns and antiaircraft batteries, he pulled out with only 2 minor wounds inflicted upon himself. On the night of 4 June, when the squadron commander lost his way and became separated from the others, Capt. Fleming brought his own plane in for a safe landing at its base despite hazardous weather conditions and total darkness. The following day, after less than 4 hours' sleep, he led the second division of his squadron in a coordinated glide-bombing and dive-bombing assault upon a Japanese battleship. Undeterred by a fateful approach glide, during which his ship was struck and set afire, he grimly pressed home his attack to an altitude of 500 feet, released his bomb to score a near miss on the stern of his target, then crashed to the sea in flames. His dauntless perseverance and unyielding devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

 

*HARR, HARRY R.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company D, 124th Infantry, 31st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Maglamin, Mindanao, Philippine Islands, 5 June 1945. Entered service at: East Freedom, Pa. Birth: Pine Croft, Pa. G.O. No.: 28, 28 March 1946. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity. In a fierce counterattack, the Japanese closed in on his machinegun emplacement, hurling hand grenades, 1 of which exploded under the gun, putting it out of action and wounding 2 of the crew. While the remaining gunners were desperately attempting to repair their weapon another grenade landed squarely in the emplacement. Quickly realizing he could not safely throw the unexploded missile from the crowded position, Cpl. Harr unhesitatingly covered it with his body to smother the blast. His supremely courageous act, which cost him his life, saved 4 of his comrades and enabled them to continue their mission.

 

*VANCE, LEON R., Jr (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Corps, 489th Bomber Group. Place and date: Over Wimereaux. France, 5 June 1944. Entered service at. Garden City, N.Y. Born: 11 August 1916, Enid, Okla . G.O. No. . 1, 4 January 1 945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty on 5 June 1944, when he led a Heavy Bombardment Group, in an attack against defended enemy coastal positions in the vicinity of Wimereaux, France. Approaching the target, his aircraft was hit repeatedly by antiaircraft fire which seriously crippled the ship, killed the pilot, and wounded several members of the crew, including Lt. Col. Vance, whose right foot was practically severed. In spite of his injury, and with 3 engines lost to the flak, he led his formation over the target, bombing it successfully. After applying a tourniquet to his leg with the aid of the radar operator, Lt. Col. Vance, realizing that the ship was approaching a stall altitude with the 1 remaining engine failing, struggled to a semi-upright position beside the copilot and took over control of the ship. Cutting the power and feathering the last engine he put the aircraft in glide sufficiently steep to maintain his airspeed. Gradually losing altitude, he at last reached the English coast, whereupon he ordered all members of the crew to bail out as he knew they would all safely make land. But he received a message over the interphone system which led him to believe 1 of the crewmembers was unable to jump due to injuries; so he made the decision to ditch the ship in the channel, thereby giving this man a chance for life. To add further to the danger of ditching the ship in his crippled condition, there was a 500-pound bomb hung up in the bomb bay. Unable to climb into the seat vacated by the copilot, since his foot, hanging on to his leg by a few tendons, had become lodged behind the copilot's seat, he nevertheless made a successful ditching while lying on the floor using only aileron and elevators for control and the side window of the cockpit for visual reference. On coming to rest in the water the aircraft commenced to sink rapidly with Lt. Col. Vance pinned in the cockpit by the upper turret which had crashed in during the landing. As it was settling beneath the waves an explosion occurred which threw Lt. Col. Vance clear of the wreckage. After clinging to a piece of floating wreckage until he could muster enough strength to inflate his life vest he began searching for the crewmember whom he believed to be aboard. Failing to find anyone he began swimming and was found approximately 50 minutes later by an Air-Sea Rescue craft. By his extraordinary flying skill and gallant leadership, despite his grave injury, Lt. Col. Vance led his formation to a successful bombing of the assigned target and returned the crew to a point where they could bail out with safety. His gallant and valorous decision to ditch the aircraft in order to give the crewmember he believed to be aboard a chance for life exemplifies the highest traditions of the U.S. Armed Forces.

 

WILSON, BENJAMIN F.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant (then M/Sgt.), U.S. Army Company I, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Hwach'on-Myon, Korea, 5 June 1951. Entered service at: Vashon, Wash. Birth: Vashon, Wash. G.O. No.: 69, 23 September 1954. Citation: 1st Lt. Wilson distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and indomitable courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. Company I was committed to attack and secure commanding terrain stubbornly defended by a numerically superior hostile force emplaced in well-fortified positions. When the spearheading element was pinned down by withering hostile fire, he dashed forward and, firing his rifle and throwing grenades, neutralized the position denying the advance and killed 4 enemy soldiers manning submachineguns. After the assault platoon moved up, occupied the position, and a base of fire was established, he led a bayonet attack which reduced the objective and killed approximately 27 hostile soldiers. While friendly forces were consolidating the newly won gain, the enemy launched a counterattack and 1st Lt. Wilson, realizing the imminent threat of being overrun, made a determined lone-man charge, killing 7 and wounding 2 of the enemy, and routing the remainder in disorder. After the position was organized, he led an assault carrying to approximately 15 yards of the final objective, when enemy fire halted the advance. He ordered the platoon to withdraw and, although painfully wounded in this action, remained to provide covering fire. During an ensuing counterattack, the commanding officer and 1st Platoon leader became casualties. Unhesitatingly, 1st Lt. Wilson charged the enemy ranks and fought valiantly, killing 3 enemy soldiers with his rifle before it was wrested from his hands, and annihilating 4 others with his entrenching tool. His courageous delaying action enabled his comrades to reorganize and effect an orderly withdrawal. While directing evacuation of the wounded, he suffered a second wound, but elected to remain on the position until assured that all of the men had reached safety. 1st Lt. Wilson's sustained valor and intrepid actions reflect utmost credit upon himself and uphold the honored traditions of the military service.

 

CAVAIANI, JON R.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Vietnam Training Advisory Group, Republic of Vietnam. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 4 and 5 June 1971. Entered service at: Fresno, Calif. Born: 2 August 1943, Royston, England. Citation: S/Sgt. Cavaiani distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action in the Republic of Vietnam on 4 and 5 June 1971 while serving as a platoon leader to a security platoon providing security for an isolated radio relay site located within enemy-held territory. On the morning of 4 June 1971, the entire camp came under an intense barrage of enemy small arms, automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenade and mortar fire from a superior size enemy force. S/Sgt. Cavaiani acted with complete disregard for his personal safety as he repeatedly exposed himself to heavy enemy fire in order to move about the camp's perimeter directing the platoon's fire and rallying the platoon in a desperate fight for survival. S/Sgt. Cavaiani also returned heavy suppressive fire upon the assaulting enemy force during this period with a variety of weapons. When the entire platoon was to be evacuated, S/Sgt. Cavaiani unhesitatingly volunteered to remain on the ground and direct the helicopters into the landing zone. S/Sgt. Cavaiani was able to direct the first 3 helicopters in evacuating a major portion of the platoon. Due to intense increase in enemy fire, S/Sgt. Cavaiani was forced to remain at the camp overnight where he calmly directed the remaining platoon members in strengthening their defenses. On the morning of S June, a heavy ground fog restricted visibility. The superior size enemy force launched a major ground attack in an attempt to completely annihilate the remaining small force. The enemy force advanced in 2 ranks, first firing a heavy volume of small arms automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade fire while the second rank continuously threw a steady barrage of hand grenades at the beleaguered force. S/Sgt. Cavaiani returned a heavy barrage of small arms and hand grenade fire on the assaulting enemy force but was unable to slow them down. He ordered the remaining platoon members to attempt to escape while he provided them with cover fire. With 1 last courageous exertion, S/Sgt. Cavaiani recovered a machine gun, stood up, completely exposing himself to the heavy enemy fire directed at him, and began firing the machine gun in a sweeping motion along the 2 ranks of advancing enemy soldiers. Through S/Sgt. Cavaiani's valiant efforts with complete disregard for his safety, the majority of the remaining platoon members were able to escape. While inflicting severe losses on the advancing enemy force, S/Sgt. Cavaiani was wounded numerous times. S/Sgt. Cavaiani's conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism and intrepidity at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for June 5, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

 

5 June

 

1909: John Berry and Paul McCullough won the first National Balloon Race. They flew 377.9 miles from Indianapolis, Ind., to Fort Payne, Ala., in 25 hours 35 minutes. (24)

 

1917: In World War I, the First Aeronautic Detachment, the first US military unit sent to Europe, reached Pauillac, France. Lt Kenneth Whiting (USN) commanded the unit with its 7 officers and 122 enlisted men. (5) (18)

 

1920: The FY1921 Appropriations Bill limited the Air Service to operations from land bases. (24)

 

1944: Operation OVERLORD. Through 6 June, the IX Troop Carrier Command used 1,400 C-47s, C-53s, and gliders carrying artillery weapons, to drop 13,000 Allied paratroopers on Normandy, France. (18) (21) MEDAL OF HONOR. While leading a B-24 group against enemy coastal positions close to Wimereaux, France, Lt Col Leon R. Vance's bomber sustained repeated hits from antiaircraft fire. These hits perilously crippled the bomber, killed the pilot, and wounded other crewmen, including Vance. Despite an injury and three lost engines, Vance still led the formation over the target and bombed it successfully. Returning to England, he gradually lost altitude. As Vance neared the English Coast, he ordered the crew to bail out. One man, however, was badly injured; so Vance ditched his B-24 in the channel. After landing on water, the plane started to sink with Vance pinned inside. An explosion occurred and threw Vance clear of the wreckage. After resting, he started to search for the other crewman. A search and rescue craft found Vance 50 minutes later. Sadly, while still recuperating from his wounds, Vance boarded a C-54 returning to the states. His aircraft went down somewhere in the North Atlantic with all souls on board lost. For his heroism in the B-24, Vance received the Medal of Honor. (4) Twentieth Air Force launched the first B-29 combat mission from India against the Bangkok railroad yards. (21)

 

1946: The US AAF changed the ADC mission for ANG units to training only rather than a high state of operational readiness. (32)

 

1948: The YB-49 Flying Wing (No.2) crashed northwest of Muroc AFB. Capt Glenn Edwards, the copilot, died in the crash; a year-and-a-half later the base became Edwards AFB.

 

1950: Republic's F-84F made its first test flight at Edwards AFB.

 

1970: SECAF Robert C. Seamans, Jr., announced that North American Rockwell and General Electric would build the B-1's airframe and engines, respectively. (1) (12)

 

1976: In a missile verification test, a Grumman A-6 launched a General Dynamics Tomahawk GLCM at the White Sands Missile Range for its first fully guided flight that lasted for 61 minutes over 446 nautical miles.

 

1981: The KC-10 completed qualification testing at Edwards AFB. (3)

 

1987: The USAF picked the Boeing 747-200 to become the next Air Force One.

 

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Thanks to Robert

 

Medal of Honor Recipient Ralph Puckett    A great story

 

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A RANGER

Written by Ret. Col Keith Nightingale

Last month, President Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to Ralph Puckett. Ranger Puckett, as a Lieutenant, commanded the 8th Army Ranger Company during the initial surge to the Yalu River in 1950. It was just sixty miles south of the Chinese border on a frozen windswept hill that Puckett exemplified how ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

The land was forbidding by itself. Bare frozen dirt and rocks and the occasional shrub marked the tortuous hills and valleys of the region. The road leading north was barely a trace and was dominated by a sharp rise that if held by either side, would control all progress-a requirement of the 8th Army which was racing to the Yalu.

The land here was very broken and disconnected as if a giant had scattered the terrain in a disconnected puzzle. Hills were important as they controlled the narrow valleys, the only way major units could progress. Hence, Ranger Puckett and his 50+ men were tasked with taking and holding a piece of ground indicated as Hill 205, its height in meters.

The Korean Ranger companies were hastily created in the summer of 1950 as the US scrambled to develop competent forces to withstand the North Korean onslaught into the South. Puckett, who had tried in vain to fight in WWII, was chosen to command the forming 8th Army Ranger Company as much out of desperation as design.

He knew that Rangers had to be fit and Grunt competent. Most importantly, they had to have a mental toughness and a will to excel under the most difficult circumstances. He insured they were through his training regimen and the conditions of combat. The nature of the war did not permit much in the way of training time, instead battle was the test and conditioning.

This was especially true for the Rangers as their demonstrated qualities, comparatively speaking, exceeded that of the other elements. Hence, they were often asked to do tasks well beyond the Ft. Benning formula for units of such size. Such was the requirement on a very cold November day.

Hill 205 dominated the only road in the area and its control was vital. By now, the advancing forces were aware of the engagement of the Chinese en masse. But, they did not know exactly where they were or what they would do. In a habit for Rangers, Puckett and his men would soon find out.

In this part of the world, the Siberian winds blow strong and hard dropping the temperature to well below zero and insuring the dirt and rocks were frozen in repose. Digging a foxhole was a Herculean task. Just managing the cold was equally taxing.

 

 

Puckett's Ranger Company

 

Puckett's men were loaded on some tanks and driven to their drop off point, a small valley in front of the hill. The road traced to the north and marked the route Puckett's men had to take. Puckett spread out his men and began the advance.

Very quickly, they came under fire from a hidden machine gun. Unable to identify the location and seeing his men stopped on exposed ground, Puckett arose and ran across the open ground, seeking fire. Still unexposed, the weapon continued to chatter and stop any advance. Puckett rose and ran a second time and then a third. Each time he drew fire and on his third rush, the gun was exposed and quickly silenced.

Now advancing up the hill, the Rangers discovered it unoccupied, but with prepared defensive positions. Clearly, the Chinese would soon attack and wrest the hill. Puckett distributed his thin force, made them dig deeper and set out the few trip flares they had. Most importantly, he established all around artillery grids and planned to use it as his primary defense.

Now they waited for what they knew was the inevitable counter-attack by massively greater forces. Night quickly descended, a bitterly cold and bone chilling night making both alertness and basic functioning a challenge. Very quickly, the Chinese rewarded them.

It began with the shrill sounds of a bugle and an answering drum beat. The Chinese advanced in tight ranks more than five abreast with successive lines to their rear. Puckett called in his artillery which quickly decimated the attackers forcing a retreat.

The second assault began with a mortar barrage impacting with great precision along the defensive line. Rangers began to fall. Puckett himself was lightly wounded. Bullets searched the thin line further reducing the position. Again, artillery saved the position in combination with Ranger small arms. At these distances, accuracy was not an issue. Most any weapon fired would impact the masses attempting advance. Fuze VT and Fuze Time shrouded the Rangers in a splintering steel shield.

By 0200, Puckett's line was considerably reduced in effective strength and all knew that a third attack was building. Puckett had gone from position to position under heavy fire, redistributing people and ammo and more importantly, keeping up their confidence. Rangers would not fail so long as Puckett had a voice. In his several transits, he experienced several more wounds, but knew he had to subordinate their effect to his task.

This pattern of assault, retreat under artillery and re-attack was repeated twice more. Artillery combined with Ranger small arms created windrows of bodies along the hill. Puckett insured each position was functioning and provided constant physical presence-a priceless quality under stressful circumstances. Ammo was becoming scarce and it was clear that bayonets would ultimately decide issue.

Very quickly, the sixth assault began. Puckett's call for artillery was denied as other elements were equally under siege and required the limited availability. Puckett knew the position could not be held absent artillery and began to plan for an extraction to prevent annihilation. Methodically and with mindless casualties, the Chinese began the systematic infiltration into the Ranger lines turning the battle into a series of individual actions rather than an organizational confrontation.

Puckett was suddenly rendered physically incapable when a pair of light mortar rounds impacted on his position. He lay in his hole, draped across the parapet and ordered his men to make an organized withdrawal off the hill, which they began to do.

The Rangers, discipline still intact despite significant casualties, began to sidle down the hill bringing their wounded and dead continuously firing into the dense advancing masses. Puckett remained in his foxhole, awaiting what he knew would be the end. He could already see the Chinese bayoneting other Rangers.

 

At this point, two Rangers understood that their commander was left behind. Within them, they understood that Rangers leave no one behind. They would not this time. Pfc. Billy G. Walls and Pfc. David L. Pollack, acting with intuitive instinct, quickly changed direction and scrambled to Puckett's position.

They found him helpless but coherent. He told them to abandon him to save themselves, something they would not allow to happen. Walls grabbed him, draping the limp Puckett over his back and began to quickly half run, half slide down the frozen scree below. Exhausted at the base of the hill, Walls dropped Puckett. He and Pollack each took an arm and dragged him on his back across the bullet swept plain.

Quickly, several tanks emerged up the road in response to Puckett's final call for help. The Rangers quickly coalesced around them and returned to the main defensive line………with Ranger Lt Ralph Puckett, grievously wounded, but immensely proud of his men.

His wounds were of such severity he was evacuated to Japan. His war was over but not his spirit, attitude or selfless dedication to the men that he served. Ralph Puckett represents the distilled essence of what we are all about as a Nation and what it means to be a Ranger. Puckett truly Lead The Way.