The List 6314 (New) TGB
To All,
Good
Saturday Morning 18 December.
Christmas is a week away. I hope that your holiday will be a great one.
Regards,
skip
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This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History
December 18
1902 - Admiral of the Navy George Dewey receives orders to send his
battleship to Trinidad and then to Venezuela to make sure that Great
Britain's and Germany's dispute with Venezuela was settled by peaceful
arbitration not force.
1944 - Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet encounters typhoon northeast of Samar.
Destroyers USS Hull, USS Monaghan and USS Spence sink, while 21 other
ships are damaged.
1965 - River Patrol Force established in Vietnam.
1965 - Helicopters from HS-11 on USS Wasp (CVS-18) pick up crew and
capsule of Gemini 7, after picking up the crew and capsule of Gemini 6
two days earlier.
1967 - Operation Preakness II begins in Mekong Delta.
1972 - Mining and bombing of North Vietnam resumes with Linebacker II Operation.
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This day in History December 18
1118 Afonso the Battler, the Christian King of Aragon captures
Saragossa, Spain, causing a major blow to Muslim Spain.
1812 Napoleon Bonaparte arrives in Paris after his disastrous campaign
in Russia.
1862 Nathan Bedford Forrest engages and defeats a Federal cavalry
force near Lexington in his continued effort to disrupt supply lines.
1862 Union General Ulysses S. Grant announces the organization of his
army in the West. Sherman, Hurlbut, McPherson, and McClernand are to
be corps commanders
.1865 Slavery is abolished in the United States. The 13th Amendment is
formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution, ensuring that "neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude... shall exist within the United
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
1915 In a single night, about 20,000 Australian and New Zealand troops
withdraw from Gallipoli, Turkey, undetected by the Turks defending the
peninsula.
1916 The Battle of Verdun ends with the French and Germans each having
suffered more than 330,000 killed and wounded in 10 months. It was the
longest engagement of World War I.
1925 Soviet leaders Lev Kamenev and Grigori Zinoviev break with Joseph Stalin.
1940 Adolf Hitler issues his secret plans for the invasion of the
Soviet Union--Operation Barbarossa.
1941 Japan invades Hong Kong.
1941 Defended by 610 fighting men, the American-held island of Guam
falls to more than 5,000 Japanese invaders in a three-hour battle.
1942 Adolf Hitler meets with Benito Mussolini and Pierre Laval.
1944 Japanese forces are repelled from northern Burma by British troops.
1951 North Koreans give the United Nations a list of 3,100 POWs.
1956 Japan is admitted to the United Nations.
1960 A rightist government is installed under Prince Boun Oum in Laos
as the United States resumes arms shipments.
1965 U.S. Marines attack VC units in the Que Son Valley during
Operation Harvest Moon.
1970 An atomic leak in Nevada forces hundreds of citizens to flee the test site.
1972 President Richard M. Nixon declares that the bombing of North
Vietnam will continue until an accord can be reached (Operation
Linebacker II).
1989 The European Economic Community and the Soviet Union sign an
agreement on trade and economic communication.
2002 California Gov. Gray Davis announces the state faces a record
budget deficit; the looming $35 billion shortfall is almost double the
amount reported a month earlier during the state's gubernatorial
campaign.
2005 Civil war begins in Chad with a rebel assault on Adre; the rebels
are believed to be backed by Chad's neighbor, Sudan.
2008 United Arab Emirates holds it first-ever elections.
2010 In an opening act of Arab Spring, anti-government protests erupt
in Tunisia.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
… For The List for Sunday, 18 December 022… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 18 December 1967…
Standdowns: Advantage Gunners…
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.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War .
Listed by last name and has other info
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1972
Nixon announces start of "Christmas Bombing" of North Vietnam
..Following the breakdown of peace talks with North Vietnam just a few
days earlier, President Richard Nixon announces the beginning of a
massive bombing campaign to break the stalemate. For nearly two weeks,
American bombers pounded North Vietnam.
On December 13, peace talks between the United States and North
Vietnam collapsed. The North Vietnamese and American negotiators
traded charges and countercharges as to who was to blame. Infuriated,
President Nixon ordered plans drawn up for retaliatory bombings of
North Vietnam. Linebacker II was the result. Beginning on December 18,
American B-52s and fighter-bombers dropped over 20,000 tons of bombs
on the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong. The United States lost 15 of its
giant B-52s and 11 other aircraft during the attacks. North Vietnam
claimed that over 1,600 civilians were killed.
The bombings continued until December 29, at which time the North
Vietnamese agreed to resume the talks. A few weeks later, the final
Paris Peace Treaty was signed and the Vietnam War came to a close,
ending the U.S. role in a conflict that seriously damaged the domestic
Cold War consensus among the American public. The impact of the
so-called "Christmas Bombings" on the final agreement was difficult to
assess. Some historians have argued that the bombings forced the North
Vietnamese back to the negotiating table. Others have suggested that
the attacks had little impact, beyond the additional death and
destruction they caused. Even the chief U.S. negotiator, Henry
Kissinger, was reported to have said, "We bombed the North Vietnamese
into accepting our concessions." The chief impact may have been in
convincing America's South Vietnamese allies, who were highly
suspicious of the draft treaty worked out in October 1972, that the
United States would not desert them. In any event, the final treaty
did not include any important changes from the October draft.
1620
Mayflower docks at Plymouth Harbor
On December 18, 1620, the British ship Mayflower docked at modern-day
Plymouth, Massachusetts, and its passengers prepared to begin their
new settlement, Plymouth Colony.
The famous Mayflower story began in 1606, when a group of
reform-minded Puritans in Nottinghamshire, England, founded their own
church, separate from the state-sanctioned Church of England. Accused
of treason, they were forced to leave the country and settle in the
more tolerant Netherlands. After 12 years of struggling to adapt and
make a decent living, the group sought financial backing from some
London merchants to set up a colony in America. On September 6, 1620,
102 passengers–dubbed Pilgrims by William Bradford, a passenger who
would become the first governor of Plymouth Colony–crowded on the
Mayflower to begin the long, hard journey to a new life in the New
World.
On November 11, 1620, the Mayflower anchored at what is now
Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod. Before going ashore, 41 male
passengers–heads of families, single men and three male
servants–signed the famous Mayflower Compact, agreeing to submit to a
government chosen by common consent and to obey all laws made for the
good of the colony. Over the next month, several small scouting groups
were sent ashore to collect firewood and scout out a good place to
build a settlement. Around December 10, one of these groups found a
harbor they liked on the western side of Cape Cod Bay. They returned
to the Mayflower to tell the other passengers, but bad weather
prevented them from docking until December 18. After exploring the
region, the settlers chose a cleared area previously occupied by
members of a local Native American tribe, the Wampanoag. The tribe had
abandoned the village several years earlier, after an outbreak of
European disease. That winter of 1620-1621 was brutal, as the Pilgrims
struggled to build their settlement, find food and ward off sickness.
By spring, 50 of the original 102 Mayflower passengers were dead. The
remaining settlers made contact with returning members of the
Wampanoag tribe and in March they signed a peace treaty with a tribal
chief, Massasoit. Aided by the Wampanoag, especially the
English-speaking Squanto, the Pilgrims were able to plant
crops–especially corn and beans–that were vital to their survival. The
Mayflower and its crew left Plymouth to return to England on April 5,
1621.
Over the next several decades, more and more settlers made the trek
across the Atlantic to Plymouth, which gradually grew into a
prosperous shipbuilding and fishing center. In 1691, Plymouth was
incorporated into the new Massachusetts Bay Association, ending its
history as an independent colony.
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Thanks to Mike. The A-7 Bubbas are featured but some good shots of
others. If you click on the utube URL it has a weekend of options for
entertainment
Pretty good song – GREAT subject!
"Kerosene Cowboy" song by Jeff Weber
www.youtube.com
"Kerosene Cowboy" by Jeff Weber. Written by Jeff Weber/Mark Allison
with Randy Arrington and recorded for the major motion picture
Kerosene Cowboys based on ...
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1979
Stuntman Stan Barrett breaks the sound barrier
On December 17, 1979, Hollywood stuntman Stan Barrett blasts across a
dry lakebed at California's Edwards Air Force Base in a rocket- and
missile-powered car, becoming the first man to travel faster than the
speed of sound on land. He did not set an official record, however.
The radar scanner was acting up, and so Barrett's top speed–739.666
miles per hour by the most reliable measure–was only an estimate.
Also, he only drove his rocket car across the lakebed once, not twice
as official record guidelines require. And, none of the spectators
heard a sonic boom as Barrett zoomed across the course.
Barrett was a 36-year-old stuntman and ex-lightweight Golden Glove
champ who had been introduced to auto racing by Paul Newman in 1971.
(He was the actor's stunt double for the film "Sometimes a Great
Notion.") Barrett's car, the $800,000 Budweiser Rocket, was owned by
the movie director Hal Needham, a former racer himself who had broken
a nine-year-old world land-speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats
the previous September. The car had a 48,000-horsepower rocket engine
and, to give it a little extra kick, a 12,000-horsepower Sidewinder
missile.
December 17 was a dry day with temperatures hovering around 20 degrees
Fahrenheit. In order to break the sound barrier under those
conditions, Barrett had to go faster than 731.9 miles per hour. He
started the rocket engine and stepped on the gas; then, after counting
to 12, he pushed a button on his steering wheel to fire the Sidewinder
so he could go even faster. After he zoomed past a battery of timing
devices, Barrett deployed a parachute to help him slow down. In all,
it took only a handful of seconds for Barrett to blast across the 5
3/4-mile lakebed.
Unfortunately, the radar speedometers on the ground malfunctioned:
Instead of the Rocket's speed, they measured the speed of a passing
truck (38 miles per hour). The final speed estimate came from data by
the Air Force, whose scanners seemed to indicate that the Rocket had
"probably exceeded the speed of sound."
Controversy over how fast Barrett actually went persists to this day.
It took until October 1997 for another driver, in a British car called
the Thrust SSC, to officially break the Mach 1 sound barrier.
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1972…Thanks to Ed and others, this is how we spent the Christmas of
1972 on the USS Midway. See update on Gen Sullivan below
Worth repeating and remembering
Christmas reflections of an old fighter-attack pilot
Old fast movers only zoom and boom in their minds. Mostly they play
golf, drink a lot better Scotch than in younger days, and when winter
sets in, sit by the fire, scratch the dog, and remember when they were
something else...
Last night, December 18th was the 50th anniversary of the beginning of
the eleven days of Christmas that ended the Vietnam mess... and so
some "remembered sky."
In 2010 based on upcoming 100th year anniversary of Naval Aviation, I
determined to go back and revisit my time and particularly the 11
months flying off of USS Midway due to the 30 March '72 North Vietnam
Easter Offensive. In doing that I not only read, researched and talked
to Navy buds but sought out Air Force guys from the Red River Valley
Fighter Pilots - the Rats - like Ed Rasimus (RIP) and Bob Hipps to try
and understand better the whole period air-war wise. Most know the
story of the B-52s and their 15 loses over those 11 nights of
Christmas. But Navy A-6 guys had some really tough times around
Haiphong and were a much more significant part of the overall plan
than most realize. For me an A-7B guy, I never launched, lots of
sitting in the cockpit on SAR (rescue) alert. While we did a lot of
night attack in those 11 months, the A-7B wasn't considered system
wise up to going over the beach at night in that kind of brouhaha so
only a few were launched. Echos from other carriers did. I have
provided Dave Snako Kelly's (RIP) A-6 stories previously (and link
below).
I remember that night vividly. That night was one of those times when
I was not sure we were coming back. But thanks to Snake, the best
A6 pilot I have known, we evaded the defenses of Haiphong twice.
Snake, you'll never be forgotten! Bob Koch, VA-115
I won't belabor any further, but my conclusion was that if you were to
look at the history of the Vietnam war as if we were responding only
to the 30 March invasion, March '72 - March '73 when the POWs came
home, you could conclude that the ARVN with US advisers and US
airpower defeated the NVN totally. Gen Giap said that after Oct it
would take 3-5 years to reconstitute for another invasion. (Minus post
73 US involvement it took 3)
History can't be re-written, war is politics, policy, politicians,
flag officers and finally warfighters.
Many if not all -certainly historians -will never agree with me but
IMHO, grouping Rolling Thunder (no criticism meant here to RT guys...
they were forced to play by very different rules) with Linebacker I &
II in an overall analysis of the use of airpower in VN is a disservice
not only to U.S. airpower application but also to those of us who
fought a different battle in 1972-73 - much of our survival due to
those RT guys who came back and taught us young'ns and therein saved
our asses.
On our watch, we won. But young men don't decide wars. NVN's army was
beaten and retreated, the POWs came home. Mission accomplished.
Here for your interest are the links to the six stories on
RememberedSky about December 1972 - war and remembrance - and always
these good men.
A remembered Christmas and a wish to you for a merry one 43 years later
Boris
Monthly Archives: December 2012
Christmas '72 Stories: (6) "We had been there too long!"
Posted on December 29, 2012 by Ed
As I write this post, it is fast approaching 0659 30 December 2012 in
Hanoi – 40 years exactly from the end to Linebacker II. President
Nixon's decision – the Linebacker II campaign – in the face of world
wide denunciation and in … Continue reading →
Posted in War and Remembrance | Comments Off
Christmas '72 Stories: (5) What did we know? When did we know it?
Posted on December 29, 2012 by Ed
Bob 'Hippo' Hipps (334 Tactical Fighter Squadron): The night of Dec
17, 1972 our F-4E squadron (the 334TFS had deployed from Seymour
Johnson, AFB, NC — which is the only Air Force base named after a
Naval Aviator) stood down … Continue reading →
Posted in War and Remembrance | Comments Off
Christmas '72 Stories: (4) MiG-CAP & Roman Candles
Posted on December 27, 2012 by Ed
Perspective from John Chesire – VF-151 Switchboxes – flying MiG-CAP
around Haiphong. Of my nearly two years combat flying in SEA
(Southeast Asia), the most spectacular and memorable sight occurred on
December 20, the third and worst night of the of the …Continue reading
→
Posted in War and Remembrance | Comments Off
Christmas '72 Stories: (3) Snako's Two Night LB II Hat Trick
Posted on December 26, 2012 by Ed
One of the motivators for Remembered Sky is that the writing about USS
Midway and her airwing/squadrons is piecemeal. Some histories and
stories barely mention Midway and some have completely left her out,
particularly related to Linebacker II. This despite …Continue reading
→
Posted in War and Remembrance | Comments Off
Christmas '72 Stories: (2) Night time in the Red River Valley
Posted on December 26, 2012 by Ed
Linebacker II from 18-29 December 1972 is commonly understood as the
B-52 strikes over Hanoi that brought the NVN back to the negotiating
table in Paris, leading to the end of the war, a treaty- The Paris
Peace Accords – … Continue reading →
Posted in War and Remembrance | Comments Off
Christmas '72 Stories: (1) The "Ornaments" from Ghosts of Christmas Past
Posted on December 25, 2012 by Ed
With this post I begin a multi-story process centered on Linebacker II
and Christmas 1972 as part of Remembered Sky's overall reflection on
the 40th anniversary of the end of that war and USS Midway/Carrier Air
Wing Five's war cruise in the … Continue reading →
This is the latest update on this story Thanks to Ed
PAC 6: A General's Decision
Folks,
Up front, I've posted and e-mailed on this before, but PLEASE NOTE,
this is the final version with significant additions and editing with
a special soundtrack. It was introduced in Nov in Seattle at the
Museum of the Air and is being shown at various places on a now
limited pace.
This final edition will be available on Vimeo for only eleven days
beginning now on the 18th to reflect the "11 Days of Christmas."
A few comments:
I suspect many who flew in the Vietnam War don't know the story of
General Sullivan and his critical (and career ending) decision after
the losses of the first three nights of Linebacker II. He accomplished
three things:
1) He stopped LB II from being a disaster
2) He saved no telling how many B-52 crew lives
3) He destroyed his career
This is a story coming from the B-52/Hanoi target side not the
Navy/Haiphong target side (particularly A-6 perspective) but I'm very
glad Ray (General Sullivan's son) included POWs Render Crayton (A-4s)
and Gordy Paige (RF-8s from Midway airwing and a friend), and Adm
Denton (A-6s), plus listed the names and pictures of both Air Force
and Navy in recognition of their loss
First 22 minutes tell the story of LB II with comments from POWs and
concludes with memorial to those lost. Last part reflects General
Sullivan's actions
IMHO, If you watched any of Ken Burns slanted left documentary on
Vietnam, you owe it to yourself to spend 45 minutes with this final
version of Ray Sullivan's story of his Dad
Ray has done his Dad right.
Merry Christmas to all
Boris
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This Day in U S Military History
1777 – The 1st America Thanksgiving Day commemorated Burgoyne's
surrender at Saratoga. A national Thanksgiving was declared by
Congress after the American victory over the British at the Battle of
Saratoga in December 1777. For many years Thanksgiving celebrations
were haphazard with Presidents Washington, Adams and Madison declaring
occasional national festivities.
1864 – U.S.S. Louisiana, Commander Rhind, arrived off Fort Fisher,
having that day been towed from Beaufort, North Carolina, by U.S.S.
Sassacus, Lieutenant Commander J. L. Davis, in company with Rear
Admiral Porter and his fleet. Louisiana had been loaded with powder
and was to be blown up as near Fort Fisher as possible in the hope of
reducing or substantially damaging that formidable Confederate work.
The day before, Porter had sent detailed instructions to Commander
Rhind, adding: "Great risks have to be run, and there are chances that
you may lose your life in this adventure; but the risk is worth the
running, when the importance of the object is to be considered and the
fame to be gained by this novel undertaking, which is either to prove
that forts on the water are useless or that rebels are proof against
gunpowder. . . . I expect more good to our cause from a success in
this instance than from an advance of all the armies in the field."
Rhind and his brave crew of volunteers proceeded in toward Fort Fisher
towed by U.S.S.Wilderness, Acting Master Henry Arey, but finding the
swells too severe, turned back. Major General Butler, seeing the
worsening weather at Beaufort, asked Porter to postpone the attempt
until the sea was calm enough to land his troops with safety.
1940 – Hitler dictated Directive No. 21 to crush Russia in a quick
campaign. Its message is simple: "The German Armed Forces must be
prepared, even before the conclusion of the war against England, to
crush Soviet Russia in a rapid campaign." The projected operation is
given the code name Barbarossa. Hitler has modified the draft plans
prepared by the army in one important respect. Although three lines of
attack are still suggested, Hitler's scheme reduces the importance
which has been laid on the advance to Moscow. He suggests that after
the first battles the center group should swing north to help clear
the Baltic States and Leningrad before moving on the capital. The
preparations are to be ready by May 15, 1940.
1944 – US Task Force 38 is caught in a typhoon while retiring to
refuel and replenish. Three destroyers, "Hull," "Spence" & "Monaghan,"
are sunk and 3 fleet carriers, 4 escort carriers and 11 destroyers
sustain damage.
1972 – The Nixon administration announces that the bombing and mining
of North Vietnam will resume and continue until a "settlement" is
reached. On December 13, North Vietnamese negotiators walked out of
secret talks with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. President
Richard Nixon issued an ultimatum to Hanoi to send its representatives
back to the conference table within 72 hours "or else." The North
Vietnamese rejected Nixon's demand and the president ordered Operation
Linebacker II, a full-scale air campaign against the Hanoi area. White
House Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler said that the bombing would end
only if all U.S. prisoners of war were released and an internationally
recognized cease-fire were in force. Linebacker II was the most
concentrated air offensive of the war, and was conducted by U.S.
aircraft, including B-52s, Air Force fighter-bombers flying from bases
in Thailand, and Navy and Marine fighter-bombers flying from carriers
in the South China Sea. During the 11 days of the attack, 700 B-52
sorties and more than 1,000 fighter-bomber sorties were flown. These
planes dropped roughly 20,000 tons of bombs, mostly over the densely
populated area between Hanoi and Haiphong. The North Vietnamese fired
more than 1,000 surface-to-air missiles at the attacking aircraft and
also used their MiG fighter-interceptor squadrons, eight of which were
shot down. In a throwback to past aerial combat, Staff Sgt. Samuel O.
Turner, the tail gunner on a Boeing B-52D bomber, downed a trailing
MiG-21 with a blast from his .50 calibre machine guns over Hanoi. Six
days later, airman, first class Albert E. Moore, also a B-52 gunner,
shot down a second MiG-21 after a strike on the Thai Nguyen railyard.
These were the only aerial gunner kills of the war. Twenty-six U.S.
aircraft were lost, including 15 B-52s. Three aircraft were brought
down by MiGs; the rest, including the B-52s, were downed by
surface-to-air missiles. American antiwar activists dubbed Linebacker
II the "Christmas bombing," and charged that it involved "carpet
bombing"–deliberately targeting civilian areas with intensive bombing
that "carpeted" a city with bombs. The campaign was focused on
specific military targets and was not intended to be "carpet bombing,"
but it did result in the deaths of 1,318 civilians in Hanoi. The
Linebacker II bombing was deemed a success because in its wake, the
North Vietnamese returned to the negotiating table, where the Paris
Peace Accords were signed less than a month later.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
EADIE, THOMAS
Rank and organization: Chief Gunner's Mate, U.S. Navy. Place and date:
Off Provincetown, Mass., 18 December 1927. Entered service at: Rhode
Island. Born: 7 April 1887, Scotland. Other Navy award: Navy Cross.
Citation: For display of extraordinary heroism in the line of his
profession above and beyond the call of duty on 18 December 1927,
during the diving operations in connection with the sinking of the
U.S.S. S-4 with all on board, as a result of a collision off
Prividencetown, Mass. On this occasion when Michels, Chief Torpedoman,
U.S. Navy, while attempting to connect an airline to the submarine at
a depth of 102 feet became seriously fouled, Eadie, under the most
adverse diving conditions, deliberately, knowingly, and willingly took
his own life in his hands by promptly descending to the rescue in
response to the desperate need of his companion diver. After 2 hours
of extremely dangerous and heartbreaking work, by his cool,
calculating, and skillful labors, he succeeded in his mission and
brought Michels safely to the surface.
BELL, BERNARD P.
Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company I, 142d
Infantry, 36th Infantry Division. Place and date: Mittelwihr, France,
18 December 1944. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth:
Grantsville, W. Va. G.O. No.: 73, 30 August 1945. Citation: For
fighting gallantly at Mittelwihr, France. On the morning of 18
December 1944, he led a squad against a schoolhouse held by enemy
troops. While his men covered him, he dashed toward the building,
surprised 2 guards at the door and took them prisoner without firing a
shot. He found that other Germans were in the cellar. These he
threatened with hand grenades, forcing 26 in all to emerge and
surrender. His squad then occupied the building and prepared to defend
it against powerful enemy action. The next day, the enemy poured
artillery and mortar barrages into the position, disrupting
communications which T/Sgt. Bell repeatedly repaired under heavy
small-arms fire as he crossed dangerous terrain to keep his company
commander informed of the squad's situation. During the day, several
prisoners were taken and other Germans killed when hostile forces were
attracted to the schoolhouse by the sound of captured German weapons
fired by the Americans. At dawn the next day the enemy prepared to
assault the building. A German tank fired round after round into the
structure, partially demolishing the upper stories. Despite this heavy
fire, T/Sgt. Bell climbed to the second floor and directed artillery
fire which forced the hostile tank to withdraw. He then adjusted
mortar fire on large forces of enemy foot soldiers attempting to reach
the American position and, when this force broke and attempted to
retire, he directed deadly machinegun and rifle fire into their
disorganized ranks. Calling for armored support to blast out the
German troops hidden behind a wall, he unhesitatingly exposed himself
to heavy small-arms fire to stand beside a friendly tank and tell its
occupants where to rip holes in walls protecting approaches to the
school building. He then trained machineguns on the gaps and mowed
down all hostile troops attempting to cross the openings to get closer
to the school building. By his intrepidity and bold, aggressive
leadership, T/Sgt. Bell enabled his 8-man squad to drive back
approximately 150 of the enemy, killing at least 87 and capturing 42.
Personally, he killed more than 20 and captured 33 prisoners.
BARNUM, HARVEY C., IR.
Rank and organization: Captain (then Lt.), U.S. Marine Corps, Company
H, 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division (Rein). Place and
date: Ky Phu in Quang Tin Province, Republic of Vietnam, 18 December
1965. Entered service at: Cheshire, Conn. Born: 21 July 1940,
Cheshire, Conn. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at
the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. When the
company was suddenly pinned down by a hail of extremely accurate enemy
fire and was quickly separated from the remainder of the battalion by
over 500 meters of open and fire-swept ground, and casualties mounted
rapidly. Lt. Barnum quickly made a hazardous reconnaissance of the
area, seeking targets for his artillery. Finding the rifle company
commander mortally wounded and the radio operator killed, he, with
complete disregard for his safety, gave aid to the dying commander,
then removed the radio from the dead operator and strapped it to
himself. He immediately assumed command of the rifle company, and
moving at once into the midst of the heavy fire, rallying and giving
encouragement to all units, reorganized them to replace the loss of
key personnel and led their attack on enemy positions from which
deadly fire continued to come. His sound and swift decisions and his
obvious calm served to stabilize the badly decimated units and his
gallant example as he stood exposed repeatedly to point out targets
served as an inspiration to all. Provided with 2 armed helicopters, he
moved fearlessly through enemy fire to control the air attack against
the firmly entrenched enemy while skillfully directing 1 platoon in a
successful counterattack on the key enemy positions. Having thus
cleared a small area, he requested and directed the landing of 2
transport helicopters for the evacuation of the dead and wounded. He
then assisted in the mopping up and final seizure of the battalion's
objective. His gallant initiative and heroic conduct reflected great
credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of
the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for December 18, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF
HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE
AGENCY
18 December
1908: Wilbur Wright won France's Aero Club de la Sarthe 100-meter
height prize in a flight to 110 meters (361 feet). He also set records
for duration and distance of 99.8 kilometers (62 miles) in 1 hour 55
minutes. (9) (24)
1912: Lt John H. Towers (U.S. Navy) ended series of tests, begun on 26
October, to determine if subs could be spotted from the air. (24)
1913: Lt Henry B. Post set a new Army solo record of 10,600 feet in
Signal Corps airplane No. 23.
1923: The US Government settled the Christmas aileron patent claim by
buying the rights for $100,000. (24)
1931: In Hawaii, Lt William A. Cooke set a glider duration record of
21 hours 34 minutes 15 seconds.
1941: Lt "Buzz" Wagner became the first American ace of World War II,
when he shot down his fifth Japanese plane over the Philippines in
four days. He flew with the 17th Pursuit Squadron. (4)
1950: Patrol Squadron 892, the first all-Reserve Navy squadron to
operate in the Korean War Zone, began flights from Iwakuni, Japan.
(24)
1958: At Point Mugu, Calif., 1Lts Einar N. Enevoldson and William T.
Smith flew F-104 Starfighters to seven time-to-climb records,
including 9,842 feet in 42 seconds and 82,021 feet in 4 minutes 26
seconds. (24) PROJECT SCORE. First Atlas satellite, a 4-ton
communications relay, placed in orbit. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
delivered a Christmas message on 19 December, the first time a human
voice had been heard from space. (12)
1961: B-52Gs from the 4241st Strategic Wing at Seymour-Johnson AFB, N.
C., conducted the first combat evaluation launches of the GAM-72A
Quail missile at Eglin AFB, Fla. (6)
1969: The Air Force Missile Development Center completed the first
guided launch of an AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface television-guided
missile. (12) (26)
1972: Operation LINEBACKER II: President Nixon ordered this 11-day
all-out bombing campaign against targets in Hanoi and Haiphong. To 29
December, US aircraft dropped 20,370 tons of bombs, including 15,000
tons from B-52s, in strikes against one of the most heavily defended
areas of the world. Altogether, the USAF completed 714 B-52 and 830
tactical fighter sorties, while the Navy and Marine Corps flew another
386 sorties in the 11 days. KC-135s flew more than 1,300 sorties to
refuel various aircraft. North Vietnam managed to shoot down 15 B-52s,
2 F-4s, and 2 F-111s in this operation. (1) (16) (17) During his
Linebacker II mission, SSgt Samuel O. Turner became the first B-52
tail gunner to shoot down an enemy airplane, a MiG-21. (21)
1974: President Ford signed a law to permit non-flyers to command
flying units. (26)
1975: First F-15 Eagle, a two-seat trainer, delivered to the 1st
Tactical Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va. (12)
1985: Two H-3 Jolly Green Giant helicopters from the 31st Air Rescue
and Recovery Squadron saved 13 people from the Asuncion Cinco in the
South China Sea, 95 miles southwest of Manila in the Philippine
Islands. The helicopters carried the survivor to Cubi Point Air
Station for medical treatment. (16) (26)
1997: SUPER-TYPHOON PAKA. Through 14 January 1998, C-5s, C-141s,
KC-10s and KC-135s flown by active duty, guard and reserve air crews
delivered relief supplies and equipment to Guam after Super-Typhoon
Paka with winds up to 236 MPH hit the island on 15 December. Despite
flight restrictions and limited navigational aids, C-5s from the 436th
Airlift Wing at Dover AFB, Del., KC-10s and C-141s from the 60th and
the 349th Air Mobility Wings at Travis AFB, Calif., and C-141s from
the 62nd Airlift Wing at McChord AFB, Wash., transported more than 200
emergency workers and critical provisions to Andersen AFB. (22)
2006: In a brief ceremony, the 167th Airlift Wing (West Virginia Air
National Guard) unveiled its first C-5 Galaxy aircraft. The wing was
transitioning from the C-130 Hercules. (32)
2007: Operation DEEP FREEZE. In Antarctica, where winter temperatures
can dip as low as minus 100 F to paralyze an aircraft's hydraulic
systems, crystallize its fuel, and solidify its lubricants, the USAF
validated the C-17 Globemaster III's polar airdrop capability by
delivering 22,372 pounds of supplies to the South Pole. The C-17
delivered 20 containerized delivery system bundles in two passes of
from 10,700 feet above sea level. (AFNEWS, "C-17 Polar Airdrop
Capability Successful," 21 Dec 2007,
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123080372.)
2007: A weapons team loaded a 20-foot mock bomb into the bomb bay of a
simulated B-2 aircraft at Whiteman AFB, Mo. The replica of the 30,000
pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator was 20.5 feet long with a 31.5-inch
diameter. When built, the new weapon would be able to penetrate up to
200 feet underground before exploding. (AFNEWS, "30,000 Pound Bomb
Reaches Milestone," 27 Dec 2007,
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123080622.)
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to Brett
Weekly rundown from STRATFOR
KEY DEVELOPMENTS WE'RE TRACKING
Putin visits Belarus. Russian President Vladimir Putin will make his
first visit to Belarus since 2019 for formal meetings with Belarusian
leader Alexander Lukashenko to discuss the countries' alliance and
further their integration within the Union State. The visit will
likely include statements that the countries' 2021 integration
agreement, which foresees the enactment of 28 policy harmonization
programs, is proceeding on schedule ahead of increasingly difficult
tasks, such as the creation of a unified gas market between Belarus
and Russia by the end of 2023. Lukashenko will make statements
emphasizing his country's independence, but the meeting and agreements
will in fact highlight Belarus's growing submission and cessation of
sovereignty to Russia, which will use the meeting primarily to
increase the perceived threat of Belarus joining the war in Ukraine.
Tunisia holds parliamentary elections. Tunisians will head to the
polls on Dec. 17 to elect what is expected to be a much weaker
parliament under the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Kais
Saied. The North African country has not had an active parliament
since Saied suspended the legislature in July 2021 amid his push to
largely return Tunisia's political system to its pre-Arab Spring form
by expanding executive powers and minimizing parliamentary powers.
With a new and controversial electoral law in place backed by Saied,
many Tunisians will likely boycott the ballot, seeing it as an attempt
by the president to install a rubber-stamp legislature that will lack
real political power moving forward. There will likely also be some
uncertainty as the votes are tallied over the next week, raising the
possibility of civil unrest.
Peru likely sets a date for early elections amid protests. Peru's
Congress and President Dina Boluarte will likely agree to a date for
early general elections over the coming week in response to ongoing
anti-government protests brought on by the country's latest political
crisis. Electoral authorities have indicated that the earliest date
they could prepare for and hold elections is December 2023. But
conservative members of Congress have advocated for elections in 2024,
which would unlikely be as successful in appeasing the Peruvians who
have taken to the streets en masse over the past week demanding early
elections and the release of the country's former president Pedro
Castillo, who was impeached and detained on Dec. 7 following an
attempted self-coup. Demonstrations in southern Peru have blocked off
major roads, causing supply chain disruptions both domestically and
for exports transiting through ports or across the Bolivian and
Chilean borders. But the protests and the subsequent disruptions will
likely cease once a date is announced, given that holding early
elections is a key protest demand.
Europe meets on a gas cap. Following an unsuccessful extraordinary
meeting on Dec. 13, EU energy ministers will convene again on Dec. 19
to set the parameters for the so-called market correction mechanism (a
bloc-wide price ceiling on natural gas) that the European Commission
proposed in November. EU capitals remain deeply divided on whether to
introduce a price cap and, if one is introduced, what it should look
like. For months, Brussels has been under pressure from a majority of
member states (including Italy, France, Spain and Poland) to propose a
price cap that would help contain growing energy costs in the bloc.
However, other countries (including Germany and the Netherlands)
oppose the idea, arguing that a cap risks disincentivizing suppliers
from delivering gas to Europe. The European Commission's original plan
proposes an ''emergency'' price ceiling on the Dutch TTF's month-ahead
futures contract, with a fairly high threshold for activation (275
euros per megawatt hour) and emergency clauses that would allow
Brussels to suspend the measure at any time if it was found to
endanger the bloc's natural gas supplies. This type of cap is unlikely
to ever be triggered (and thus approved by member states), which means
the upcoming negotiations will probably yield an agreement that eases
the conditions attached to the cap's activation, with a lower
threshold likely ranging between 180 and 220 euros per megawatt hour.
The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), meanwhile, has warned it could
relocate its gas trading hub to the outside of the European Union
should a price cap be approved, highlighting the controversy
surrounding the measure and the potential risks for it to backfire by
triggering unwanted market reactions.
MOST READ ANALYSIS FROM THE WEEK
Escalating Unrest in North Kosovo Does Not Portend a Return to War
Despite recent border clashes and escalating threats between Serbia
and Kosovo, a widespread outbreak of ethnic violence remains unlikely
in north Kosovo due to the large presence of NATO peacekeepers in the
region and Western diplomatic pressure. On Dec. 10-11, tensions flared
in north Kosovo as hundreds of ethnic Serbs erected roadblocks using
heavy machinery at two border crossings with Serbia, obstructing
traffic in the Zvecan and Leposavic areas. The Serbs exchanged gunfire
with the Kosovar police near the Brnjak checkpoint, while EULEX -- the
European Union mission tasked with patrolling northern Kosovo --
confirmed that an unidentified individual also threw a stun grenade at
one of its armored vehicles. Kosovar authorities said two Serbs were
arrested for attacking police officers. But no injuries have been
reported following the incidents, which marked the worst escalation of
ethnic violence in Kosovo since 2004. In response to the latest
flare-up, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called for a
de-escalation, but also warned that Serbia's army was ready to
intervene to protect the Serb minority in Kosovo. In addition, Vucic
demanded that Kosovar police release all recently arrested Serbs, who
he says ''are held on trumped up charges,'' and withdraw from the
Serb-majority regions in the country's north. Following Vucic's
statements, Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused his Serbian
counterpart of threatening military aggression and promising that, in
such a scenario, Kosovo will ''defend itself, forcefully and
decisively''. European and U.S. diplomats, meanwhile, have demanded an
immediate end to the unrest.
In Nigeria, Violence Threatens Election Integrity and Government Legitimacy
Regional and religious electoral violence will threaten the integrity
of Nigeria's February general elections, likely weakening the next
government's ability to implement policy at a time of increasing
economic challenges. Nigerian police reportedly killed three gunmen in
a Dec. 12 shootout following an attack on the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Owerri, the capital of Nigeria's
southeastern Imo state. The Imo state police spokesman told reporters
that officers repelled the attack and arrested two of the
perpetrators, but only after the attackers threw explosives onto the
facility's roof, destroying part of the building. No group has claimed
responsibility for the attack, but Nigerian authorities regularly
attribute similar incidents to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB),
a separatist group based in Nigeria's southeastern region. The
incident took place ahead of the general election on Feb. 25, when
millions of Nigerians will elect their next president and vice
president, as well as members of the country's Senate and House of
Representatives.
The Limits to Washington's New Sanctions on Illegal Chinese Fishing
The United States implemented new sanctions over illegal Chinese
fishing to disrupt Chinese maritime power projection in the Pacific
Ocean and score a diplomatic victory against Beijing. However, coastal
states' economic interests and lackluster enforcement mechanisms will
constrain the sanctions' effectiveness. On Dec. 9, the U.S. Treasury
Department imposed new sanctions on China's distant water fishing
industry via the Global Magnitsky Act, which expands the use of
economic sanctions triggered by human rights violations. The Treasury
Department said it levied the sanctions over "serious human rights
abuses" aboard Chinese vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and
unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as over the illegal transport of
endangered species and the "exacerbat[ion of] the environmental and
socioeconomic effects of climate change." The sanctions added two
Chinese nationals, their companies Dalian Ocean Fishing and Pingtan
Marine Enterprise, an attendant network of eight entities, and 157
China-flagged fishing vessels to the Specially Designated Nationals
list, which blocks listed entities from accessing any U.S. assets and
bars U.S. entities from engaging in business with them. China denied
the allegations, and its foreign ministry declared that "The U.S. is
in no position to impose unwarranted sanctions on other countries or
act as a 'world policeman,'" adding that "China will act resolutely to
safeguard its lawful rights and interests."
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