The List 6314 TGB
To All,
Good
Saturday Morning 17 December.
Regards,
skip
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This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History
December 17
1812—The brig Argus, commanded by Arthur Sinclair, captures the
American schooner Vancise during the War of 1812. The ship had
abandoned by its crew and found derelict by another ship. A crew is
placed on board and the ship is sent into the Chesapeake.
1846—During the Mexican-American War, the squadron under Commodore
Matthew C. Perry captures Laguna de los Terminos without opposition.
The squadron includes the side-wheeled steamer Mississippi, wooden
steamer Vixen, schooner Bonito, and the shallow-draft vessel Petrel.
1863—The bark-rigged clipper ship Roebuck seizes blockade-runner
British schooner Ringdove off Indian River, FL, with cargo including
salt, coffee, tea, and whiskey.
1917—USS Remlik (SP 157) reportedly encounters an enemy submarine
during a storm in the Bay of Biscay, but the weather prevents an
engagement. While the ship is fighting the heavy seas that day, a
depth charge breaks loose on her after deck and is secured by Chief
Boatswain's Mate John MacKenzie, who receives the Medal of Honor for
his heroic actions.
1917—While underway off Point Loma, CA, USS F 1 collides with her
sister submarine, USS F 3. With her hull torn open amidships, it
rapidly sinks and loses 19 crewmen.
1942—USS Grouper (SS 214) sinks the Japanese army passenger cargo ship
Bandoeng Maru about 15 miles northwest of Cape Henpan, Buka Island,
Solomons and survives the counterattack by submarine chaser Ch 29.
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Today in History: December 17
1399 Tamerlane's Mongols destroy the army of Mahmud Tughluk, Sultan of
Delhi, at Panipat.
1861 The Stonewall Brigade begins to dismantle Dam No. 5 of the C&O Canal.
1886 At a Christmas party, Sam Belle shoots his old enemy Frank West,
but is fatally wounded himself.
1903 Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright make
the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled,
heavier-than-air aircraft.
1927 U.S. Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg suggests a worldwide
pact renouncing war.
1938 Italy declares the 1935 pact with France invalid because
ratifications had not been exchanged. France denies the argument.
1939 In the Battle of River Plate near Montevideo, Uruguay, the
British trap the German pocket battleship Graf Spee. German Captain
Langsdorf sinks his ship believing that resistance is hopeless.
1943 U.S. forces invade Japanese-held New Britain Island in New Guinea.
1944 U.S. approves end to internment of Japanese Americans. U.S. Major
General Henry C. Pratt issues Public Proclamation No. 21, declaring
that Japanese American "evacuees" from the West Coast could return to
their homes effective January 2, 1945.
1944 The German Army renews the attack on the Belgian town of
Losheimergraben against the defending Americans during the Battle of
the Bulge.
1948 The Smithsonian Institution accepts the Kitty Hawk - the Wright
brothers' plane.
1950 The French government appoints Marshal de Lattre de Tassigny to
command their troops in Vietnam.
1952 Yugoslavia breaks relations with the Vatican.
1965 Ending an election campaign marked by bitterness and violence,
Ferdinand Marcos is declared president of the Philippines.
1981 Red Brigade terrorists kidnap Brigadier General James Dozier, the
highest-ranking U.S. NATO officer in Italy.
1989 Fernando Color de Mello becomes Brazil's first democratically
elected president in nearly 30 years.
1989 The Simpsons, television's longest-running animated series, makes
its US debut.
1990 Jean-Bertrand Aristide wins Haiti's first free election.
2002 Congolese parties of the inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace
accord in the Second Congo War, providing for transitional government
and elections within two years.
2010 Mohamed Bouazizi immolates himself, the catalyst for the Tunisian
revolution and the subsequent Arab Spring.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
… For The List for Saturday, 17 December 2022… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 17 December
1967… "The objective was not achieved…"
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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Thanks to Dr. Rich
Mayhem - Hypersonic Strike-Recon Jet Contract Awarded To Leidos
Thanks to Michael ...
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a contract to Leidos to develop a new
hypersonic air vehicle as part of its secretive Mayhem program.
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This is one worth repeating
Thanks to Brett for passing this on at this time of year
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
Daily Memo: A Moment of Miracles
Thoughts in and around geopolitics.
By: George Friedman
December 17, 2021
Judaism and Christianity share many things, but the thing most binding
is the constant sense of the magnificent impossibility of the world:
the miracle of life. Chanukah is about a victory against the Syrians
and about God's gift of oil to purify the temple. Christmas is about
the miracle of life, embodied in the gift of God's only son. Miracles
begat struggles, and neither Christians nor Jews were ever truly at
peace but for brief seconds when we remember that even sorrow was a
miracle, for it meant that we live.
I normally write about war, and I am more comfortable with it, but for
this Christmas and Chanukah I would like to share a story that is
utter nonsense yet tells a great truth.
There is a movement in Judaism called Hasidism. Its adherents are the
Jews who dress like the Amish. The movement was founded in Poland by a
man referred to as the Baal Shem Tov, "He of the Good Name."
The story I'd like to share is about the Baal Shem Tov. When he needed
a miracle – and we Jews too frequently needed one – he would go to a
particular place in the forest, light a pipe a certain way, say a
particular prayer, and the miracle would be done.
As all men do, the Baal Shem Tov died, and his followers would do what
he did, and the miracle they needed was done. In the next generation
they forgot where the place in the forest was, but they lit the pipe
and said the prayer, and the miracle was done. In the next generation,
they had lost the pipe, but they said the prayer, and the miracle was
done. In the next generation they forgot the prayer, but they told
this story, and the miracle was done.
No matter whether you have forgotten the ritual, the power of
recollection creates extraordinary possibilities. This is not merely a
teaching for the religious but for humans in general. The recollection
of the extraordinary, even if you think you have forgotten it, makes
human greatness possible. The obsession with the ordinary and banal,
and the doubt of human greatness, may seem as wisdom, but it will lead
you to live a life that is ordinary and banal.
Whenever I was in danger, I always remembered the Baal Shem Tov and
his followers. I always survived, which may be dismissed as pure
chance, and even if it was, pure chance is never as pure as it claims
to be.
I wish all of you the gift of the Baal Shem Tov. It is the memory of
things forgotten that makes us human.
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Thanks to Barrell who lives in Alaska. I talked to him a few days ago
and he had two storms that dropped a total of 8 feet of snow on him.
This is just a beautifully written piece by an unknown author.
A WINTER FRIEND
This article is so befitting for all of us... take time to ponder...
the last statement cannot be refuted!
You know time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of
the passing years. It seems like yesterday that I was young, just
married, and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it
seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all those years went.
I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then
and of all my hopes and dreams. But, here it is... the winter of my
life, and it catches me by surprise... How did I get here so fast?
Where did the years go and where did my youth go? I remember well
seeing older people through the years and thinking that those "older
people" were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I
could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.
But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting grey... they move
slower and I see an older person in myself now. Some are in better and
some worse shape than me... but, I see the great change... Not like
the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me,
their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that
we used to see and never thought we'd be.
Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for
the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory!
Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I
sit!
And so... now I enter this new season of my life unprepared for all
the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do
things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know,
that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will
last... this I know, that when it's over on this earth... it's over. A
new adventure will begin!
Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done... things I
should have done, but indeed, there are also many things I'm happy to
have done. It's all in a lifetime.
So, if you're not in your winter yet... let me remind you, that it
will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to
accomplish in your life, please do it quickly! Don't put things off
too long!! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can TODAY, as you can
never be sure whether this is your winter or not!
You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...
so, LIVE FOR TODAY and say all the things that you want your loved
ones to remember.. and hope that they appreciate and love you for all
the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!
"Life" is a GIFT to you. The way you live your life is your gift to
those who come after. Make it a fantastic one.
Remember: "It is Health that is real Wealth and not pieces of gold and silver."
~Your kids are becoming you......but your grandchildren are perfect!
~Going out is good.. coming home is even better!
~You forget names... but it's OK, because other people forgot they
even knew you!!!
~You realize you're never going to be really good at anything....
especially golf.
~The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you
really do care that you don't care to do them anymore.
~You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed.
It's called "pre-sleep."
~You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch..
~You tend to use more 4 letter words ... "what?"..."when?"...???
~Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.
~You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless?!"
~What used to be freckles are now liver spots.
~Everybody whispers.
~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet.... 2 of which you will never wear.
~But "Old" is good in some things:
Old Songs, Old movies ...
and best of all, our dear ...OLD FRIENDS!!
Stay well, "OLD FRIEND!"
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Thanks to Carl
(Very important info about the UKR impact on our weapons and ammo
stockpiles which are being depleted rapidly!)
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Meeting the Demand Signal
The U.S. has sent 13 years worth of Stinger production and five years
worth of Javelin production to Ukraine, Hayes said during a panel
discussion at the Reagan National Defense Forum here.
Seeing the demand for Stingers, Raytheon is "going to take a little
bit of a gamble" because it seems NATO and other U.S. allies want to
buy the easy-to-use weapons in the coming years as well.
"We want to be prepared to meet the demand that's out there," Hayes
said in the interview. "I wish I could snap my fingers and then all of
a sudden miraculously, throw a building up and train 500 people [to
build them], but it just takes time."
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Thanks to Mike
Skip, I need to comment on the article included in today's "List"
about Dr. Rath's new patent, submitted by Carl. The fact that
something is patented does not mean it is useful or valuable; almost
anything can be patented, for example:
Patent No. 6,681,419: Urinal Headrest
It's hard to believe that someone actually thought that a headrest
placed above urinals was a great idea. This 2004 patent provided a
padded support where users could rest their head while relieving
themselves.
A very-well documented discussion of Dr. Rath and his institute can be
found here:
A lawyer representing Rath responded to the complaints by stating that
the title 'Dr.' referred in Rath's case to "a PHD doctorate he had
obtained and his position as a researcher, not a medical doctor."
Among others who take issue with Dr. Rath are Doctors Without Borders,
the Harvard School of Public Health, the Swiss Study Group for
Complementary and Alternative Methods in Cancer (SKAK), and the South
African government.
I could find no reference on his website to any substantiative studies
of his claims. Until he does some double-blind studies, I would take
his claims with a grain of salt.
Thanks, Skip!
Mike
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This Day in U S Military History December 17
1903 – Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright make
the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled,
heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the gasoline-powered,
propeller-driven biplane, which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and
covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight. Orville and Wilbur Wright
grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and developed an interest in aviation after
learning of the glider flights of the German engineer Otto Lilienthal
in the 1890s. Unlike their older brothers, Orville and Wilbur did not
attend college, but they possessed extraordinary technical ability and
a sophisticated approach to solving problems in mechanical design.
They built printing presses and in 1892 opened a bicycle sales and
repair shop. Soon, they were building their own bicycles, and this
experience, combined with profits from their various businesses,
allowed them to pursue actively their dream of building the world's
first airplane. After exhaustively researching other engineers'
efforts to build a heavier-than-air, controlled aircraft, the Wright
brothers wrote the U.S. Weather Bureau inquiring about a suitable
place to conduct glider tests. They settled on Kitty Hawk, an isolated
village on North Carolina's Outer Banks, which offered steady winds
and sand dunes from which to glide and land softly. Their first
glider, tested in 1900, performed poorly, but a new design, tested in
1901, was more successful. Later that year, they built a wind tunnel
where they tested nearly 200 wings and airframes of different shapes
and designs. The brothers' systematic experimentations paid off–they
flew hundreds of successful flights in their 1902 glider at Kill
Devils Hills near Kitty Hawk. Their biplane glider featured a steering
system, based on a movable rudder, that solved the problem of
controlled flight. They were now ready for powered flight. In Dayton,
they designed a 12-horsepower internal combustion engine with the
assistance of machinist Charles Taylor and built a new aircraft to
house it. They transported their aircraft in pieces to Kitty Hawk in
the autumn of 1903, assembled it, made a few further tests, and on
December 14 Orville made the first attempt at powered flight. The
engine stalled during take-off and the plane was damaged, and they
spent three days repairing it. Then at 10:35 a.m. on December 17, in
front of five witnesses, the aircraft ran down a monorail track and
into the air, staying aloft for 12 seconds and flying 120 feet. The
modern aviation age was born. Three more tests were made that day,
with Wilbur and Orville alternately flying the airplane. Wilbur flew
the last flight, covering 852 feet in 59 seconds. During the next few
years, the Wright brothers further developed their airplanes but kept
a low profile about their successes in order to secure patents and
contracts for their flying machines. By 1905, their aircraft could
perform complex maneuvers and remain aloft for up to 39 minutes at a
time. In 1908, they traveled to France and made their first public
flights, arousing widespread public excitement. In 1909, the U.S.
Army's Signal Corps purchased an especially constructed plane, and the
brothers founded the Wright Company to build and market their
aircraft. Wilbur Wright died of typhoid fever in 1912; Orville lived
until 1948. The historic Wright brothers' aircraft of 1903 is on
permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington,
D.C.
1925 – Col. William "Billy" Mitchell was convicted of insubordination
at his court -martial. Mitchell was found guilty of conduct
prejudicial to the good of the armed services. He was awarded the
Medal of Honor 20 years after his death.
1938 – German chemist Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the
heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of
nuclear energy.
1941 – Admiral Chester W. Nimitz named Commander in Chief, US Pacific
Fleet, to relieve Admiral Husband Kimmel. Admiral William Pye becomes
acting commander until Nimitz's arrival. Admiral Kimmel had enjoyed a
successful military career, beginning in 1915 as an aide to the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He served
admirably on battleships in World War I, winning command of several in
the interwar period. At the outbreak of World War II, Kimmel had
already attained the rank of rear admiral and was commanding the
cruiser forces at Pearl Harbor. In January 1941, he was promoted to
commander of the Pacific Fleet, replacing James Richardson, who FDR
relieved of duty after Richardson objected to basing the fleet at
Pearl Harbor. If Kimmel had a weakness, it was that he was a creature
of habit, of routine. He knew only what had been done before, and
lacked imagination-and therefore insight-regarding the unprecedented.
So, even as word was out that Japan was likely to make a first strike
against the United States as the negotiations in Washington
floundered, Kimmel took no extraordinary actions at Pearl Harbor. In
fact, he believed that a sneak attack was more likely at Wake Island
or Midway Island, and requested from Lieutenant General Walter Short,
Commander of the Army at Pearl Harbor, extra antiaircraft artillery
for support there (none could be spared). Kimmel's predictability was
extremely easy to read by Japanese military observers and made his
fleet highly vulnerable. As a result, Kimmel was held accountable, to
a certain degree, for the absolute devastation wrought on December 7.
Although he had no more reason than anyone else to believe Pearl
Harbor was a possible Japanese target, a scapegoat had to be found to
appease public outrage. He avoided a probable court-martial when he
requested early retirement. When Admiral Kimmel's Story, an "as told
to" autobiography, was published in 1955, Kimmel made it plain that he
believed FDR sacrificed him-and his career-to take suspicion off
himself; Kimmel believed Roosevelt knew Pearl Harbor was going to be
bombed, although no evidence has ever been adduced to support his
allegation.
1944 – Eisenhower releases the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions
from AEF reserve to reinforce American troops in the Ardennes. Other
infantry and armored forces from US 12th Army Group are also being
redeployed to meet the German offensive. Meanwhile, German forces
capture 9000 Americans at Echternach, on the extreme right flank of
the attack. Soldiers of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich kill some
71 American POWs near Malmedy.
1947 – First flight of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber. The
Boeing B-47 Stratojet (company Model 450) was a long range,
six-engine, jet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high
subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interception. The
B-47's primary mission was to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union.
With its engines carried in nacelles under the swept wing, the B-47
was a major innovation in post-World War II combat jet design, and
helped lead to modern jet airliners. The B-47 entered service with the
United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1951. It
never saw combat as a bomber, but was a mainstay of SAC's bomber
strength during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and remained in use as
a bomber until 1965. It was also adapted to a number of other
missions, including photographic reconnaissance, electronic
intelligence and weather reconnaissance, remaining in service as a
reconnaissance platform until 1969 and as a testbed until 1977.
1950 – U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Bruce H. Hinton, commander of
the 336th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, earned the distinction of
becoming the first F-86 Sabre fighter pilot to shoot down a MiG-15
during the Korean War.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BEAUMONT, EUGENE B.
Rank and organization: Major and Assistant Adjutant General, Cavalry
Corps, Army of the Mississippi. Place and date: At Harpeth River,
Tenn., 17 December 1864; at Selma, Ala., 2 April 1865. Entered service
at: Wilkes Barre, Pa. Birth: Luzerne County, Pa. Date of issue: 30
March 1898. Citation: Obtained permission from the corps commander to
advance upon the enemy's position with the 4th U.S. Cavalry, of which
he was a lieutenant; led an attack upon a battery, dispersed the
enemy, and captured the guns. At Selma, Ala., charged, at the head of
his regiment, into the second and last line of the enemy's works.
HEDGES, JOSEPH
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 4th U.S. Cavalry. Place and
date: Near Harpeth River, Tenn., 17 December 1864. Entered service at:
Ohio. Birth: Ohio. Date of issue: 5 April 1898. Citation: At the head
of his regiment charged a field battery with strong infantry supports,
broke the enemy's line and, with other mounted troops, captured 3 guns
and many prisoners.
MacKENZlE, JOHN
Rank and organization: Chief Boatswain's Mate, U.S. Navy. Born: 7 July
1886, Bridgeport, Conn. Accredited to: Massachusetts. G.O. No.: 391,
1918. Citation: For extraordinary heroism while serving on board the
U.S.S. Remlik, on the morning of 17 December 1917, when the Remlik
encountered a heavy gale. During this gale, there was a heavy sea
running. The depth charge box on the taffrail aft, containing a Sperry
depth charge, was washed overboard, the depth charge itself falling
inboard and remaining on deck. MacKenzie, on his own initiative, went
aft and sat down on the depth charge, as it was impracticable to carry
it to safety until the ship was headed up into the sea. In acting as
he did, MacKenzie exposed his life and prevented a serious accident to
the ship and probable loss of the ship and the entire crew.
COWAN, RICHARD ELLER
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company M, 23d
Infantry, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Krinkelter Wald,
Belgium, 17 December 1944. Entered service at: Wichita, Kans. Birth:
Lincoln, Nebr. G.O. No.: 48, 23 June 1945. Citation: He was a heavy
machinegunner in a section attached to Company I in the vicinity of
Krinkelter Wald, Belgium, 17 December 1944, when that company was
attacked by a numerically superior force of German infantry and tanks.
The first 6 waves of hostile infantrymen were repulsed with heavy
casualties, but a seventh drive with tanks killed or wounded all but 3
of his section, leaving Pvt. Cowan to man his gun, supported by only
15 to 20 riflemen of Company I. He maintained his position, holding
off the Germans until the rest of the shattered force had set up a new
line along a firebreak. Then, unaided, he moved his machinegun and
ammunition to the second position. At the approach of a Royal Tiger
tank, he held his fire until about 80 enemy infantrymen supporting the
tank appeared at a distance of about 150 yards. His first burst killed
or wounded about half of these infantrymen. His position was rocked by
an 88mm. shell when the tank opened fire, but he continued to man his
gun, pouring deadly fire into the Germans when they again advanced. He
was barely missed by another shell. Fire from three machineguns and
innumerable small arms struck all about him; an enemy rocket shook him
badly, but did not drive him from his gun. Infiltration by the enemy
had by this time made the position untenable, and the order was given
to withdraw. Pvt. Cowan was the last man to leave, voluntarily
covering the withdrawal of his remaining comrades. His heroic actions
were entirely responsible for allowing the remaining men to retire
successfully from the scene of their last-ditch stand.
LOPEZ, JOSE M.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, 23d Infantry, 2d Infantry
Division. Place and date: Near Krinkelt, Belgium, 17 December 1944.
Entered service at: Brownsville, Tex. Birth: Mission, Tex. G.O. No.:
47, 18 June 1945. Citation: On his own initiative, he carried his
heavy machinegun from Company K's right flank to its left, in order to
protect that flank which was in danger of being overrun by advancing
enemy infantry supported by tanks. Occupying a shallow hole offering
no protection above his waist, he cut down a group of 10 Germans.
Ignoring enemy fire from an advancing tank, he held his position and
cut down 25 more enemy infantry attempting to turn his flank. Glancing
to his right, he saw a large number of infantry swarming in from the
front. Although dazed and shaken from enemy artillery fire which had
crashed into the ground only a few yards away, he realized that his
position soon would be outflanked. Again, alone, he carried his
machinegun to a position to the right rear of the sector; enemy tanks
and infantry were forcing a withdrawal. Blown over backward by the
concussion of enemy fire, he immediately reset his gun and continued
his fire. Single-handed he held off the German horde until he was
satisfied his company had effected its retirement. Again he loaded his
gun on his back and in a hail of small arms fire he ran to a point
where a few of his comrades were attempting to set up another defense
against the onrushing enemy. He fired from this position until his
ammunition was exhausted. Still carrying his gun, he fell back with
his small group to Krinkelt. Sgt. Lopez's gallantry and intrepidity,
on seemingly suicidal missions in which he killed at least 100 of the
enemy, were almost solely responsible for allowing Company K to avoid
being enveloped, to withdraw successfully and to give other forces
coming up in support time to build a line which repelled the enemy
drive.
SODERMAN, WILLIAM A.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company K, 9th
Infantry, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Rocherath,
Belgium, 17 December 1944. Entered service at: West Haven, Conn.
Birth: West Haven, Conn. G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945. Citation:
Armed with a bazooka, he defended a key road junction near Rocherath,
Belgium, on 17 December 1944, during the German Ardennes
counteroffensive. After a heavy artillery barrage had wounded and
forced the withdrawal of his assistant, he heard enemy tanks
approaching the position where he calmly waited in the gathering
darkness of early evening until the 5 Mark V tanks which made up the
hostile force were within pointblank range. He then stood up,
completely disregarding the firepower that could be brought to bear
upon him, and launched a rocket into the lead tank, setting it afire
and forcing its crew to abandon it as the other tanks pressed on
before Pfc. Soderman could reload. The daring bazookaman remained at
his post all night under severe artillery, mortar, and machinegun
fire, awaiting the next onslaught, which was made shortly after dawn
by 5 more tanks Running along a ditch to meet them, he reached an
advantageous point and there leaped to the road in full view of the
tank gunners, deliberately aimed his weapon and disabled the lead
tank. The other vehicles, thwarted by a deep ditch in their attempt to
go around the crippled machine, withdrew. While returning to his post
Pfc. Soderman, braving heavy fire to attack an enemy infantry platoon
from close range, killed at least 3 Germans and wounded several others
with a round from his bazooka. By this time, enemy pressure had made
Company K's position untenable. Orders were issued for withdrawal to
an assembly area, where Pfc. Soderman was located when he once more
heard enemy tanks approaching. Knowing that elements of the company
had not completed their disengaging maneuver and were consequently
extremely vulnerable to an armored attack, he hurried from his
comparatively safe position to meet the tanks. Once more he disabled
the lead tank with a single rocket, his last; but before he could
reach cover, machinegun bullets from the tank ripped into his right
shoulder. Unarmed and seriously wounded he dragged himself along a
ditch to the American lines and was evacuated. Through his unfaltering
courage against overwhelming odds, Pfc. Soderman contributed in great
measure to the defense of Rocherath, exhibiting to a superlative
degree the intrepidity and heroism with which American soldiers met
and smashed the savage power of the last great German offensive
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for December 17, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF
HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE
AGENCY
17 December
1903: Orville Wright made the first sustained, controlled power
airplane flight in the Kill Devil Hills, near Kitty Hawk. In the
fourth, and longest flight of the day, the Wright Flyer flew 852 feet
in 59 seconds. (20)
1911: While flying in a Wright plane with Robert G. Fowler from
Beaumont, Tex., to New York, N.Y., cameraman E. R. Shaw made the first
aerial reconnaissance motion picture in America over Beaumont. (24)
1935: Carl Cover, Fred Stineman, and Frank Collbohm fly the Douglas
Sleeper Transport on its first flight over Santa Monica. This aircraft
preceded the famous DC-3 and the C-47 Gooneybird, the military
variant. (21)
1943: THE ROBERT J. COLLIER TROPHY. Orville Wright presented the 1942
trophy to his former pupil, Gen Henry H. Arnold, Commanding General,
US Army Air Forces, for outstanding achievement in aviation in 1942.
(24)
1944: Major Richard Bong, 9th Fighter Squadron, shot down his 40th
enemy plane in the Pacific. (21)
1945: THE ROBERT J. COLLIER TROPHY. President Harry S. Truman
presented the 1944 award to Gen Carl Spaatz for "demonstrating the air
power concept" in the European War. (24)
1946: At Holloman AFB, N. Mex., the National Institute of Health
started a space biological research program. (24)
1947: A Boeing test pilot, Bob Robbins, flew the XB-47 Stratojet
prototype for the first time at Boeing Field in Seattle, Wash. (12)
(24)
1948: The Smithsonian Institution celebrated the return of the
Wright's Kitty Hawk Flyer to the U. S. on the 45th anniversary of
heavier-than-air flight. The London Science Museum kept the aircraft
for more than 20 years before returning it on 22 November to
Washington DC. (16) (26)
1950: KOREAN WAR. Far East Air Forces F-86 Sabres met North Korean
MiG-15s for the first time in combat. Lt Col Bruce H. Hinton achieved
the first F-86 aerial victory over a MiG-15. (21) (28)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Two F-86 Sabre pilots claimed the first sighting of
the enemy's IL-28 twinjet bombers, one having crossed the Yalu River a
few miles south of the Sui-ho Reservoir, escorted by two MiG-15s,
while the other remained over Manchuria. (28)
1957: From Cape Canaveral, Fla., the Convair HGM-16 (Atlas A) ICBM
made its first fully successful flight test landing in a target area
some 500 miles away. The A-model had boosters, but no sustainer
engines, and could not achieve stage separation in flight. (6) (24)
1963: Company pilots Leo Sullivan and Hank Dees flew the Lockheed
C-141A Starlifter jet cargo transport for the first time in a
55-minute flight at Dobbins AFB, Ga. (12)
1967: The RF-111A prototype reconnaissance plane made its first flight
at Fort Worth.
1969: PROJECT BLUE BOOK. Secretary of the Air Force Robert C. Seamans,
Jr., announced that the Air Force had ended its investigation of UFOs.
(16) (26) The Military Airlift Command and the 443d Military Airlift
Wing at Altus AFB, Okla., received the first C-5A aircraft. (12) (18)
1979: Stan Barrett, a Hollywood stuntman, drove a rocket car faster
than sound (739.66 MPH) for the first time at Rogers Dry Lake on
Edwards AFB, Calif., on the 76th anniversary of the Wright's first
flight. (3)
1980: The A-7K Prototype arrived at Edwards AFB, Calif., for testing. (3)
1990: A pilot flew the Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics YF-22 at an
unprecedented 60-degree angle-of-attack attitude in a test flight over
Edwards AFB, Calif. (20)
1991: Through 22 December, the 436th, 438th, and 439th Military
Airlift Wings flew 238 tons of food and relief supplies to Moscow and
Saint Petersburg in Russia, Minsk in Byelorussia; and Yerevan in
Armenia.
1993: The USAF received its first B-2A bomber (Tail No. 80329), the
Spirit of Missouri. General John M Loh, the Air Combat Commander, and
Lt Col John Bellanger, flew the aircraft from Palmdale, Calif., to
Whiteman AFB, Mo., for its assignment with the 509th Bomb Wing. (15)
(26)
1994: Through 21 December, a C-130 crew from the 94th Airlift Wing
moved pallets of clothing, furniture, books, beds, and a refrigerator
to Albania for orphan shelters. (16) (26)
2001: Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. C-17 Globemaster III airplanes began
airlifting French troops from Istres AB, France, to Afghanistan. (21)
2003: In a ceremony in Long Beach, Boeing delivered the first of eight
C-17 Globemaster IIIs to the 172nd Airlift Wing at Allen C. Thompson
Field, Jackson, Miss. The aircraft (Tail No. 02-1112) was also the
first C-17 delivered to an Air National Guard unit. The Mississippi
Air National Guard named it The Spirit of Mississippi Minutemen to
honor those Mississippians who, historically, had remained vigilant to
defend America and the Magnolia State. The delivery occurred on the
100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' historic flight at Kitty
Hawk. (22) (32)
2004: At Edwards AFB, Calif., the National Air and Space
Administration (NASA) retired its B-52B "mothership" (Tail No.
52-0008). The air-launch aircraft dropped advanced research vehicles
for test flights for nearly 50 years. At its retirement, 52-0008 was
the oldest aircraft in the USAF and the oldest flyable B-52, but it
had the lowest number of flying hours of any operational B-52. The
aircraft first flew in June 1955, was modified to support the X-15
research program in 1959, and first carried the X-15 aloft in 1960. On
16 November 2004, 52-0008 flew its last mission to launch the X-43A
hypersonic research aircraft on its record Mach 9.8 flight over the
Pacific Ocean. It logged 1,051 sorties, including 405 test drops of
rocket planes, manned lifting bodies, space vehicles, and parachute
test fixtures. (3)
2007: The USAF marked the 104th anniversary of powered flight by
flying a C-17 Globemaster III on the first transcontinental flight
using a blend of regular aviation and synthetic fuel. The C-17 took
off shortly before dawn from McChord AFB, Wash., and arrived at
McGuire AFB, N.J., where Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne
and a number of other officials greeted the plane. (AFNEWS, "C-17 Uses
Synthetic Fuel Blend on Transcontinental Flight," 18 Dec 2007.)
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