Good Monday Morning September 6
I hope that you all are having a great Holiday weekend.
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Today in Naval and Marine Corps History
September 6
1918—In the first use of major-caliber naval guns in a land offensive, a U.S. naval railway battery of five, 14-inch guns begin long-range bombardment of German forces near Soissons, France.
1930—USS Grebe (AM 43) arrives at Santo Domingo with supplies and medicines for victims of a hurricane three days prior. She is joined by USS Gilmer (DD 223) with a party of Marines for relief and rescue work.
1939—The Navy begins formation of Neutrality Patrol for Atlantic Ocean.
1940—First destroyers transferred to Great Britain at Halifax, Nova Scotia, under "Destroyers-for- Bases agreement.
1944—USS Independence (CVL 22) begins the use of a specially trained air-group for night work. This time was the first in which a fully equipped night carrier operated with a fast carrier task force.
1945 - U.S. troops begin returning to U.S. when Task Force 11 left Tokyo Bay for U.S.
1947—A captured German V 2 rocket from World War II is successfully launched from a ship, fired by USS Midway (CVB 41).
1953—Exchange of prisoners of war from Korean War called Operation Big Switch ends.
1997—USS Hopper (DDG 70) is commissioned at San Francisco, Calif. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is the first ship in the Navy to be named after the pioneering computer scientist Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, often referred to as Grandma COBOL.
1997—USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) is commissioned at its homeport of Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. The boat is the last of the Navy's 18 Ohio-class nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarines.
Today in History
| September 6 | ||
| 394 | Theodosius becomes sole ruler of Italy after defeating Eugenius at the Battle of the River Frigidus. | |
| 1422 | Sultan Murat II ends a vain siege of Constantinople. | |
| 1522 | One of the five ships that set out in Ferdinand Magellan's trip around the world makes it back to Spain. Only 15 of the original 265 men that set out survived. Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines. | |
| 1688 | Imperial troops defeat the Turks and take Belgrade, Serbia. | |
| 1793 | French General Jean Houchard and his 40,000 men begin a three-day battle against an Anglo-Hanoveraian army at Hondschoote, southwest Belgium, in the wars of the French Revolution. | |
| 1847 | Henry David Thoreau leaves Walden Pond and moves back into town, to Concord, Massachusetts. | |
| 1861 | Union General Ulysses S. Grant's forces capture Paducah, Kentucky from Confederate forces. | |
| 1870 | The last British troops to serve in Austria are withdrawn. | |
| 1901 | President William McKinley is shot while attending a reception at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, by 28-year-old anarchist Leon Czolgosz. McKinley dies eight days later, the third American president assassinated. | |
| 1907 | The luxury liner Lusitania leaves London for New York on her maiden voyage. | |
| 1918 | The German Army begins a general retreat across the Aisne, with British troops in pursuit. | |
| 1936 | Aviator Beryl Markham flies the first east-to-west solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. | |
| 1937 | The Soviet Union accuses Italy of torpedoing two Russian ships in the Mediterranean. | |
| 1941 | Germany announces that all Jews living in the country will have to begin wearing a Star of David. | |
| 1943 | The United States asks the Chinese Nationals to join with the Communists to present a common front to the Japanese. | |
| 1953 | The last American and Korean prisoners are exchanged in Operation Big Switch, the last official act of the Korean War. | |
| 1965 | Indian troops invade Lahore; Pakistan paratroopers raid Punjab. | |
| 1972 | The world learns an earlier announcement that all Israeli athletes taken hostage at the Munich Olympics had been rescued was erroneous; all had been killed by their captors from the Black September terrorist group; all but 3 terrorists also died in shootout around midnight. | |
| 1976 | A Soviet pilot lands his MIG-25 in Tokyo and asks for political asylum in the United States. | |
| 1976 | Lieutenant Viktor Belenko, a Soviet air force pilot defects, flying a MiG-25 jet fighter to Japan and requesting political asylum in US. | |
| 1988 | Lee Roy Young becomes the first African-American Texas Ranger in the force's 165-year history. | |
| 1991 | USSR officially recognizes independence for the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. | |
| 1991 | Leningrad, second-largest city in the USSR, is changed to Saint Petersburg, which had been the city's name prior to 1924. | |
| 1995 | Baltimore Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a 56-year MLB record held by Lou Gehrig; in 2007 fans voted this achievement the most memorable moment in MLB history. | |
| 1997 | Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales: over 1 million people line London's streets to honor her and 2.5 billion watched the event on TV. | |
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear
LOOKING BACK 55-YEARS to the Vietnam Air War— … For The List for Monday, 6 September 2021… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 6 Sept 1966… "…those gentle heroes we left behind"…
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
September 6
1844 – Western explorer John C. Fremont arrives at the shores of the Great Salt Lake, one of the many areas he will map for the lasting benefit of a westward-moving nation. When Fremont reached the strange saltwater inland lake (a remnant of the much larger prehistoric Lake Bonneville), he was not the first Euro-American to view its shores. As early as the 1820s, fur trappers had returned to the East with tales of a bizarre salt lake where no fish swam, and the French explorer Benjamin Bonneville was the first to map the lake's outlines in 1837. But for the far-ranging John C. Fremont, the Great Salt Lake was only one small part of a much wider journey of discovery and mapping. Born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1813, Fremont began honing his skills as an explorer and mapmaker in his early twenties. His first major expedition was an 1842 survey of the Platte River for the U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers. More skilled in cartography and science than trailblazing and wilderness survival, Fremont relied heavily on the abilities of men like Kit Carson as guides and advisers. Fremont reached the Great Salt Lake during his second expedition. His 14 months of western rambling also took him across the Sierra Nevada and resulted in the first comprehensive map of the Great Basin, the region between the Wasatch and the Sierra Nevada mountains where water drains to neither the Pacific nor the Atlantic. After Fremont's Great Basin map was published, one commentator noted, it "changed the entire picture of the West." It also made Fremont a national hero. Along with charts resulting from three further expeditions, Fremont's maps became indispensable guides to thousands of overland immigrants heading westward to begin new lives. He died of peritonitis in New York City on July 13, 1890.
1901 – President William McKinley is shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley was greeting the crowd in the Temple of Music when Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, stepped forward and shot the president twice at point-blank range. McKinley lived for another week before finally succumbing to a gangrene infection on September 14. At the time of the shooting, President McKinley was very popular and America was in the midst of a period of peace and prosperity. Czolgosz, a laborer from Cleveland who fell under the sway of charismatic leaders of anarchy such as Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, became particularly obsessed with Gaetano Bresci, an anarchist who shot and killed King Humbert I of Italy on July 29, 1900. Czolgosz decided to kill McKinley to further the anarchist cause. While Presidents Lincoln and Garfield had been completely unprotected at the time of their assassinations, the newly formed Secret Service was now available to protect President McKinley. But when Czolgosz stepped up to shake McKinley's hand with a handkerchief covering the .32 revolver in his hand, the agents thought nothing of it. After the shots were fired, the agents grabbed Czolgosz and began pummeling him, but McKinley warned, "Be easy with him, boys," as he was helped to an ambulance. The president then told his secretary to be careful in telling the First Lady what happened. Working in a building with no electricity, surgeons operated on the president, who seemed to be recovering at first. Legend has it that his recovery diet was raw eggs and whiskey. Before lapsing into a coma and dying, McKinley's last words were: "It is God's way. His will, not ours, be done." McKinley's assassination led to reprisals against his critics across the country. Those who had spoken poorly of the president were tarred and feathered. Emma Goldman was even arrested for allegedly inspiring the murder. But Czolgosz took full and sole responsibility for the assassination and was sent to the electric chair less than two months later. On October 29, his last words were: "I am not sorry for my crime."
1915 – The first tank prototype was completed and given its first test drive on this day, developed by William Foster & Company for the British army. Several European nations had been working on the development of a shielded, tracked vehicle that could cross the uneven terrain of World War I trenches, but Great Britain was the first to succeed. Lightly armed with machine guns, the tanks made their first authoritative appearance at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, when 474 British tanks managed to break through the German lines. The Allies began using the vehicles in increasing numbers throughout the rest of the war. After World War I, European nations on all sides continued to build tanks at a frantic pace, arming them with even heavier artillery and plating. This competitive stockpiling came to a lethal head on the battlefields of World War II.
1945 – George Weller (d.2002), a Chicago Daily News journalist, wrote his 1st story on the bombing of Nagasaki. Posing as a US Army colonel Weller had slipped into Nagasaki in early September. His stories infuriated MacArthur so much he personally ordered that they be quashed, and the originals were never returned. Carbon copies of his stories, running to about 25,000 words on 75 typed pages, along with more than two dozen photos, were discovered by his son, Anthony, in 2004 at Weller's apartment in Rome, Italy. In 2005 the national Mainichi newspaper began serializing the stories and photographs for the first time since they were rejected by U.S. military censors.
1976 – A Soviet Air Force pilot lands his MIG fighter jet in Japan and asks for asylum in the United States. The incident was a serious embarrassment for the Soviets, and also provided a bit of a surprise for U.S. officials. When the Soviets first put the MIG-25 (known as the Foxbat) into production in the 1960s, U.S. officials became nearly hysterical. The new plane, they claimed, was the fastest, most advanced, and most destructive interceptor jet ever built. Its debut, they argued, meant that the United States was falling dangerously behind in the race to control the skies. On September 6, 1976, those officials got a close-up look at the aircraft. Soviet Air Force Lt. Viktor Belenko took his MIG-25 out of Soviet airspace and landed it at a Japanese airfield at Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido. Japanese police took the pilot into custody, where he immediately asked for asylum in the United States. Experts from the U.S. quickly arrived on the scene to get a firsthand look at the aircraft. After being questioned extensively by both Japanese and U.S. officials, Belenko was flown to the United States and granted political asylum. For the Soviets, the MIG-25 incident was a major diplomatic and military embarrassment. To have one of their most advanced planes delivered into the hands of their enemy was mortifying and was viewed as a serious setback to the Soviet weapons program. U.S. officials were in for a surprise. After a thorough check of the MIG-25, the Americans experts came away less than impressed. The plane was quite fast, but also unwieldy and almost completely incapable of close-quarters combat. In addition, the electronic technology of the plane was deemed to be far behind comparable U.S. aircraft. As one U.S. expert joked, "I guess it could be worse; it might have been made out of wood." The MIG-25 incident suggested that U.S. officials may have overestimated the Soviet threat in order to push for even higher American defense spending.
1997 – The USS Hopper, the 354th ship in the modern naval fleet, was commissioned. The high-tech destroyer is the 2nd warship to be named after a woman. Grace Hooper (d.1992) was a computer programmer for the Navy until she retired in 1986 at age 79. She coined the term "debugging" when she pulled a moth from her computer.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*MARTINEZ, BENITO
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company A, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Satae-ri Korea, 6 September 1952. Entered service at: Fort Hancock, Tex. Born: 21 March 1931, Fort Hancock, Tex. G.O. No.: 96, 29 December 1953. Citation. Cpl. Martinez, a machine gunner with Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. While manning a listening post forward of the main line of resistance, his position was attacked by a hostile force of reinforced company strength. In the bitter fighting which ensued, the enemy infiltrated the defense perimeter and, realizing that encirclement was imminent, Cpl. Martinez elected to remain at his post in an attempt to stem the onslaught. In a daring defense, he raked the attacking troops with crippling fire, inflicting numerous casualties. Although contacted by sound power phone several times, he insisted that no attempt be made to rescue him because of the danger involved. Soon thereafter, the hostile forces rushed the emplacement, forcing him to make a limited withdrawal with only an automatic rifle and pistol to defend himself. After a courageous 6-hour stand and shortly before dawn, he called in for the last time, stating that the enemy was converging on his position His magnificent stand enabled friendly elements to reorganize, attack, and regain the key terrain. Cpl. Martinez' incredible valor and supreme sacrifice reflect lasting glory upon himself and are in keeping with the honored traditions of the military service.
*DAVIS, RODNEY MAXWELL
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, 6 September 1967. Entered service at: Macon, Ga. Born: 7 April 1942, Macon, Ga. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the right guide of the 2d Platoon, Company B, in action against enemy forces. Elements of the 2d Platoon were pinned down by a numerically superior force of attacking North Vietnamese Army Regulars. Remnants of the platoon were located in a trench line where Sgt. Davis was directing the fire of his men in an attempt to repel the enemy attack. Disregarding the enemy hand grenades and high volume of small arms and mortar fire, Sgt. Davis moved from man to man shouting words of encouragement to each of them while firing and throwing grenades at the onrushing enemy. When an enemy grenade landed in the trench in the midst of his men, Sgt. Davis, realizing the gravity of the situation, and in a final valiant act of complete self-sacrifice, instantly threw himself upon the grenade, absorbing with his body the full and terrific force of the explosion. Through his extraordinary initiative and inspiring valor in the face of almost certain death, Sgt. Davis saved his comrades from injury and possible loss of life, enabled his platoon to hold its vital position, and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
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thanks to Doctor Rich
Thanks to YP ...
My Dad spent 30+ years in the Army, Active and Reserves. The only decoration he wore was his CIB. No Purple Heart, even though he got disability for life for being wounded in combat in Italy.
None of the Veterans I grew up with ever mentioned gongs or service. They were too busy with making civilian life full and furnishing us with Baby Boomers.
My Dad is my standard. He was buried in this WW2 uniform.
YP
On Sep 2, 2021, at 2:04 AM, Richard Sugden, MD
Thanks to Todd S. ...
Sent to me by a good friend........worth reading, especially if you honorably served .
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I don't like senior officers bedecked in countless medals for two reasons:
First, they tend to serve as an unspoken bulwark against any legitimate criticism, not of the bearer's past service, but of their current horrendous policy prescriptions.
Second, the awards seem to grow flashier the farther their bearers drift from the actual shooting. I will use myself as an example:
I served in the Marine Corps for five years. During that time, I saw no combat. Also during that time, I was given five awards. They are as follows:
Overseas ribbon - If you spend a year overseas, you get an overseas ribbon. I spent four years overseas, so I wore the ribbon with three stars. I was never stationed in Afghanistan or Iraq, but rather in Japan, Cameroon, and Norway. I lived in places where (Cameroon aside...way aside) others pay good money to vacation.
Marine Security Guard ribbon - My Military Occupational Specialty (i.e. my job) during most of my enlistment was as a Marine embassy guard. I got this ribbon for, you know, doing what I was getting paid to do.
National Defense Medal - Known derisively in the Marine Corps as a "fire watch" medal, this is awarded to those who happen to be serving during a time of war. You don't have to fight in the war, you just have to be enlisted during that time frame. You can arrive at boot camp during the war, the war could end before you finish boot camp, and you'll still get the medal.
Good Conduct Medal - Known derisively in the Marine Corps as the "good cookie" medal, this is awarded to those who serve for three whole years without a major disciplinary incident (arrest, dereliction of duty, etc.). So, if you behave in a manner befitting a mature adult for three years, you get a medal.
Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal - This medal ranks up there in the hierarchy, just a few places below the Bronze Star. I received this medal at home in the mail a few months after my enlistment ended. There was some cookie-cutter letter with it explaining in vague terms that I had "served with distinction", or something to that effect, but with no specifics. To this day, I have no clue why I got this medal.
In contrast, my grandfather served as a private in the U.S. Army and fought against Hitler's Wehrmacht in France and Germany. He fought on the front lines the entire time. He came back with a Bronze Star for heroism, a Purple Heart for wounds sustained from a grenade, and a campaign medal.
General Austin (C-SPAN screengrab)
General Milley (CSPAN screengrab)
The United States government awarded Dwight Eisenhower 10 medals for his entire career, Douglas MacArthur 20 medals, and awarded Austin and Milley 22 and 20, respectively. MacArthur fought valiantly in both Mexico and in the First World War and, as Supreme Commander South Pacific Forces during the Second World War, brought Japan to its knees. Eisenhower never personally engaged in combat, but it's fair to say history will judge his accomplishments (at least, for the ones that benefitted our side) as somewhat more considerable than the current "white rage" witch hunts Forrest and Bubba are conducting in between their unconditional surrenders.
So, as far as our own government's knighting ceremonialists are concerned, the two generals most responsible for our humiliating retreat from a horde of illiterate goatherds leave in their dust the two generals whose strategic acumen saved the world from Nazism and Japanese imperialism. But regarding the opinions of the nations on whose fields these clashes of civilizations are actually won or lost? Not so much.
Eisenhower's 58 additional medals and MacArthur's 36 additional medals were awarded to them by foreign allies (France, England, Philippines, South Korea, etc.) for their direct role in...what's that outdated phrase?...America winning the war.
Do you know what Austin nor Milley will never receive medals for? For neither honor nor shame, because neither of them possesses these qualities at present. Had they any honor now, they would have resigned (and alerted the public) when it became apparent that Biden was intentionally steering this locomotive straight off a cliff. Had they any shame, they would have resigned after Kabul fell, if only to make room for people with enough courage to stand up for what's right, despite the consequences to their career. Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Scheller comes to mind.
When the dust settles and the blood dries, Austin can go back to the board of directors at Raytheon, Nucor, Tenet Healthcare, and Pine Island Capital. Milley can churn out the standard 199-page, run-of-the-mill yawn-fest congratulating himself for his unparalleled service, mawkishly titled A Soldier's Soldier or some such (I'm thinking Michael Hayden or James Mattis could write the intro). But as of now, when it matters, it doesn't look like either of them, or their sycophantic entourages, are leaving by their own volition anytime soon.
The Boltonite sages at Foreign Policy laud Austin's "nearly instinctive commitment to rebuilding U.S. alliances". Now that he and Milley almost singlehandedly destroyed every alliance we had, he'll have all the "rebuilding" he can handle. The good news is he's got help. Veterans are organizing and going back into Afghanistan, at their own risk and on their own dime, to rescue the Afghan interpreters who fought at our side for two decades. They are doing this across the entire country of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, "leading" from Washington D.C., His Royal Majesty Twenty-Two Medaled Four Star General Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III commands the most lethal military in human history, and he doesn't "have the capability" to venture outside the airport in Kabul.
We'll see who gets the medals, and the book deals, and the private sector "consulting" salaries, and the CNN contributor gigs...these veterans keeping the promises made by our country, or the "leaders" who broke them.
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I can't remember if I showed you this one or not
This is for all my Bubbas who are worried about their memory problems.
Thanks to Doctor Rich For our yearly Alzheimer's test.
Who's afraid of Alzheimer's ?
In the following analysis the French Professor Bruno Dubois Director of the Institute of Memory and Alzheimer's Disease (IMMA)
at La Pitié-Salpêtrière - Paris Hospitals / addresses the subject in a rather reassuring way:
"For some time now, I have been stuck and I do not know what we were I talking about ...
Before, I was afraid it was the beginning of Alzheimer's ... but today, after reading this article, I am reassured."
"If anyone is aware of his memory problems, he does not have Alzheimer's."
1. I forget the names of families ...
2. I do not remember where I put some things ...
It often happens in people 60 years and older that they complain that they lack memory.
"The information is always in the brain, it is the "processor" that is lacking. "
This is "Anosognosia" or temporary forgetfulness.
Half of people 60 and older have some symptoms that are due to age rather than disease.
The most common symptoms are:
- forgetting the name of a person,
- going to a room in the house and not remembering why we were going there ...
- a blank memory for a movie title or actor, an actress,
- a waste of time searching where we left our glasses or keys ...
After 60 years most people have such a difficulty, which indicates that it is not a disease but rather a characteristic due to the passage of years ...
Many people are concerned about these oversights hence the importance of the following statement:
"Those who are conscious of being forgetful have no serious problem of memory."
"Those who suffer from a memory illness or Alzheimer's, are not aware of what is happening."
Professor Bruno Dubois, Director of IMMA, reassures the majority of people concerned about their oversights:
"The more we complain about memory loss, the less likely we are to suffer from memory sickness.
- Now for a little neurological test:
Only use your eyes!
1- Find the C in the table below!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
2- If you have already found the C,
Then find the 6 in the table below.
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
69999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
3- Now find the N in the table below.
Attention, it's a little more difficult!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
If you pass these three tests without problem:
- you can cancel your annual visit to the neurologist.
- your brain is in perfect shape!
- you are far from having any relationship with Alzheimer's.
So, share this with your over-60 friends, it can reassure them...
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Thanks to Dutch
State Dept blocking private rescue flights from leaving Afghanistan, organizers say: 'Blood is on their hands'
Americans involved in private evacuation efforts tell Fox News that the State Department is the only reason their planes haven't left Afghanistan
By Houston Keene , Peter Hasson | Fox News
Americans engaged in the rescue of U.S. citizens, SIVs and green card holders left behind by President Biden in Afghanistan are horrified by what they describe as inexplicable delays from the State Department that are preventing evacuation flights from leaving the country.
The State Department's delays are recklessly endangering American lives, three different individuals involved in the private evacuation effort told Fox News.
Rick Clay, who runs the private rescue group PlanB, told Fox News that the State Department is the only thing preventing the flights he's organizing from leaving Afghanistan.
Two other American individuals separately involved in evacuation efforts, whom Fox News is not naming to avoid jeopardizing ongoing rescue efforts, similarly said that the State Department is the sole entity preventing their charter flights from leaving Afghanistan.
"This is zero place to be negotiating with American lives. Those are our people standing on the tarmac and all it takes is a f****ing phone call," one of those individuals, who has been integral to private evacuation efforts from Afghanistan, told Fox News.
"If one life is lost as a result of this, the blood is on the White House's hands. The blood is on their hands," that individual said, adding: "It is not the Taliban that is holding this up – as much as it sickens me to say that – it is the United States government."
That individual suggested that the State Department's obstruction is motivated in part by embarrassment that private individuals are rescuing Americans that the U.S. government left behind.
Military command over Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, have informed those seeking clearance to land that they must first go through the State Department to gain approval, an email reviewed by Fox News shows.
Clay has a manifest of 4,500 names of U.S. citizens, green card holders, SIVs and refugees trying to get state-side. So far, they've given the State Department 800 names for a first round of flights. Fox News has reviewed that manifest, which confirms Clay's account.
"It is imperative that we get into Doha where there [are] other refugee centers," the PlanB founder told Fox News in a text message. "That is where I've asked for clearance."
Clay told Fox News that his organization is "having problems getting permission" from the Biden State Department "to land on the return flight" from Afghanistan in a neighboring country.
The State Department "is not allowing any private charters carrying refugees [to] land anywhere" in nearby countries if they are coming out of Afghanistan and is making different "excuses" as to why, such as pointing to the lack of air traffic controllers and radar issues, Clay told Fox News this week. The two other individuals separately involved in private evacuation efforts confirmed Clay's account.
"If we can get aircraft in and pick up people and bring them out, why can't we take them to Doha to the refugee center or other refugee centers?" Clay remarked. "This makes no sense."
"We still have Americans we can get out," he added.
After making little to no progress with the State Department, Clay's group turned to senators from both parties: Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., have all sought to help PlanB and other organizations secure the approval they need to get the evacuees safely out of Afghanistan, organizers and Senate staffers told Fox News.
Clay received word on Thursday that their flights out of Afghanistan would eventually receive approval following the State Department's review of their manifest — a task that could take several days even as just the initial 800 names are subjected to the vetting process.
As of Sunday evening, the State Department had yet to give PlanB the green light to land any of their flights in any countries neighboring Afghanistan.
The two other Americans involved in another private evacuation effort told Fox News that the State Department has secured them clearance to land in a neighboring country and that the Taliban has given them the green light to take off, dependent on State Department approval – which hasn't come.
Meanwhile, Taliban fighters are reportedly carrying out executions against those who helped American troops during the war.
Clay shared some of the messages that he has received from a family on the PlanB manifest list that he has been in contact with.
"Please save us as soon as possible," one message said. "My family and I are facing a lot of problems. My children's health is deteriorating day by day due to many worries."
"On the other hand, there are reports that the Taliban have recruited people in the Ministry of Technology and Communications to find people who will cooperate with US forces," the person said. "If they find out anything about me, they will kill me and my family."
Johnson told Fox News in a statement that it is "hard to believe that the U.S. government would deny American citizens and Afghan allies who helped save American lives the ability to evacuate Afghanistan."
"However, what we've been hearing from people actually involved in evacuation is completely different from the administration's rosy spin," the senator said. "When I hear President Biden declare this debacle an 'extraordinary success' it not only shows he's detached from reality, it also calls into question everything this administration is telling the American people."
During a briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki and State Department spokesman Ned Price both denied that the Biden administration was preventing planes from leaving Afghanistan.
The State Department pointed Fox News to Price's remarks Thursday in lieu of a comment for this article.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for September 6, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
6 September
1916: The Army dropped its first fragmentation bomb, the "Barlow Return Action," at the Signal Corps Aviation Station in Mineola, N. Y. (12) (24)
1919: At Dayton, Ohio, Maj Rudolph W. Schroeder, chief test pilot for the Engineering Division at McCook Field, and Lt G. A. Elfrey set a new unofficial two-man world altitude record of 28,250 feet. They used a Packard-Lepere LUSAC II, powered by a 400 HP Liberty engine with a Moss Turbo Supercharger. Schroeder used an oxygen system and special oxygen. (24)
1942: The VIII Bomber Command lost its first aircraft in combat when two B-17s failed to return from a strike on the Avions Poetz aircraft plant at Meaulte, France. (24)
1943: P-47s escorted a B-17 attack on an aircraft and bearing factory in Stuttgart, Germany. The fighters had little chance for combat as the Luftwaffe avoided them. Bad weather also frustrated the original target plans, so the bombers turned to targets of opportunity in Germany and France. This proved disastrous as enemy fighters claimed 45 bombers. (4)
1947: The carrier USS Midway successfully fired a captured German V-2 rocket from its deck. (24)
1978: General Dynamic's first production-model F-16 fighter landed at Edwards AFB, Calif., for testing, following a two-hour flight from the plant at Fort Worth, Tex. (3)
1985: Exercise BRAVE DEFENDER. Through 14 September, United States Air Forces in Europe forces participated in this exercise, the first off-post national ground defense exercise held by the British. (16)
1995: The Air Mobility Commnd coordinated an Air Transport International DC-8 mission from Charleston AFB, S. C., to Zagreb, Croatia, to carry 18 pallets of pharmaceutical and medical supplies for victims of the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. (18)
1997: From Charleston AFB, S. C., a 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron aircrew flew the first C-17 aeromedical evacuation training flight aboard the "The Spirit of Charleston" on a round trip to Bermuda. (22)
2002: Operation NOBLE EAGLE. Fighters resumed 24-hour combat air patrols temporarily over Washington DC and New York City as the anniversary of the
11 September 2001 terrorist attacks approached. (32)
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