To All,
Good Thursday morning March 9 2023.
I hoe that your week has been going well.
Regards,
Skip
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History March 9
1847
An Army-Navy force begins the siege of Veracruz, Mexico. Approximately 12,000 U.S. troops land on the beaches, along with their horses, mules, artillery, and supplies. Veracruz surrenders March 29, and the forces make their way to Mexico City.
1862
In the first battle between ironclads, USS Monitor and CSS Virginia engage in close combat in Hampton Roads, Va. Neither side could claim victory, but it eventually ends the era of wooden ships.
1919
The first flight from a battleship platform is made by Lt. Cmdr. Edward O. McDonnell in a Sopwith Camel from turret No. 2 of USS Texas (BB 35) while anchored at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
1944
USS Lapon (SS 260), while pursuing a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea, sank two freighters and survived a counterattack by Japanese gunboat.
1952
USS Samuel N. Moore (DD 747) and HMS Morecambe Bay silence enemy shore batteries firing at USS Merganser (AMS-26) near Songjin, Korea.
1991
USS Cowpens (CG 63) is commissioned in Charleston, S.C. The 17th of her 27-ship Ticonderoga-class of guided-missile cruisers, Cowpens.
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Today in World History: March 9
1617 The Treaty of Stolbovo ends the occupation of Northern Russia by Swedish troops.
1734 The Russians take Danzig (Gdansk) in Poland.
1788 Connecticut becomes the 5th state.
1796 Napoleon Bonaparte marries Josephine de Beauharnais in Paris, France.
1812 Swedish Pomerania is seized by Napoleon.
1820 Congress passes the Land Act, paving the way for westward expansion.
1839 The French Academy of Science announces the Daguerreotype photo process.
1841 The rebel slaves who seized a Spanish slave ship, the Amistad, in 1839 are freed by the Supreme Court despite Spanish demands for extradition.
1862 The first and last battle between the ironclads U.S.S. Monitor and C.S.S. Virginia ends in a draw.
1864 General Ulysses Grant is appointed commander-in-chief of the Union forces.
1911 The funding for five new battleships is added to the British military defense budget.
1915 The Germans take Grodno on the Eastern Front.
1916 Mexican bandit Pancho Villa leads 1,500 horsemen on a raid of Columbus, N.M. killing 17 U.S. soldiers and citizens.
1932 Eamon De Valera is elected president of the Irish Free State and pledges to abolish all loyalty to the British Crown.
1936 The German press warns that all Jews who vote in the upcoming elections will be arrested.
1939 Czech President Emil Hacha ousts pro-German Joseph Tiso as the Premier of Slovakia in order to preserve Czech unity.
1940 Britain frees captured Italian coal ships on the eve of German Foreign Minister, Ribbentrop's visit to Rome.
1956 British authorities arrest and deport Archbishop Makarios from Cyprus. He is accused of supporting terrorists.
1957 Egyptian leader Nasser bars U.N. plans to share the tolls for the use of the Suez Canal.
1959 The Barbie doll is unveiled at a toy fair in New York City.
1964 The first Ford Mustang rolls off the Ford assembly line.
1967 Svetlana Alliluyeva, Josef Stalin's daughter defects to the United States.
1968 General William Westmoreland asks for 206,000 more troops in Vietnam.
1975 Iraq launches an offensive against the rebellious Kurds.
1986 Navy divers find the crew compartment of the space shuttle Challenger along with the remains of the astronauts.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
Skip… For The List for Thursday, 9 March 2023… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 9 March 1968… Find-Fix-Fight-Follow-Finish…
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 https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
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From the List archives
Thanks to Dick
Fwd: From a friend.
VERY INTERESTING…..
Subject: Dark Horse Reunion
From a former PeoplExpress pilot who flew in the Navy. It will be hard to watch by some, but it proves that war is hell! After all is said and done, it turns out that Ho Chi Mihn did not want Communism either! What a terrible waste of American and Vietnamese lives!
Some of you saw much of this first hand and this will ring greatly with the memories of your time their. Others of us could have been sent but the military seemed to continue to fight with the troops and equipment there so all we did was watch,read and listen--and keep track of friends we knew who were not coming back.
This item is terrific in showing that our enemy were in many ways not that much different then ourselves.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/168246685
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Thanks to Tom
View the Latest Edition of "This Week @NASA" (published March 3, 2023)
Folks –
On the road again! Beat my last "lateness"!!
ENJOY
Tom
AGENCYWIDE MESSAGE TO ALL NASA EMPLOYEES
Points of Contact: Rebecca Sirmons, rebecca.h.sirmons@nasa.gov, and Andre Valentine, andre.valentine-1@nasa.gov, Office of Communications, NASA Headquarters
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
View the Latest Edition of "This Week @NASA" (published March 3, 2023)
View the latest "This Week @NASA," produced by NASA Television, for features on agency news and activities. Stories in this program include:
• NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Launches to the Space Station
• Navigating the Lunar Landscape
• Roman Space Telescope's Wide View of the Universe
• NASA Aeronautics Dream with Us Design Challenge
Watch the Video
To access this edition of "This Week @NASA," you may also visit:
--------------------------------------
This notice is being sent agencywide to all employees by NASA INC in the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters.
Thomas E. Diegelman
"Safe Space Exploration for Life"
"The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Audiens sapiens sapientior erit et intellegens gubernacula possidebit
"A wise man shall hear, and shall be wiser; and he that understands, shall possess the government."
"The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself."
― Plato, The Republic
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Thanks to Mugs for passing this one to u
March 8 2023
Cher Subscribers,
I'm back.
The surgery for the spinal stenosis went extremely well, and I just had to spend a single night in the terrific Jupiter Medical Center for observation.
While this newsletter will be short, I hope to resume full coverage in a couple days.
Happy Immutable Characteristic Month!
By: Judd Garrett
Objectivity is the Objective
March 5, 2023
Wednesday was the start of March and the beginning of Women's History month. It came after February, which is Black History Month, and before April, which is Arab-American heritage month. Throughout the year, there is also an Asian-American Pacific-Islander Heritage Month, a Haitian Heritage Month, a Jewish-American History Month, a Caribbean-American Heritage Month, LGBT Pride Month, and many others. There is a Black Catholic History month, but not a Catholic History month. At this point, some people will object to all these different groups having their own months while there is never a Men's History Month or a White History Month. Why do women have a history month, but men don't? Why does every other ethnic group have a history month, but white people don't?
Why are the accomplishments and achievements of white people and of men being slighted, and not appreciated with a specified month in their honor? It feels like a slap in the face, an attempt to disrespect members of those two groups. White men are not allowed to be acknowledged for their accomplishments because they have been designated for cancelation. It is curious that every white man is continually reminded of and held accountable for every bad thing that white men have ever done in history, but at the same time, white men are not supposed to acknowledge any good that any white man has ever done. Ignore all the good and focus solely on the bad. That's healthy for society.
But the more I think about it, the more I go back to the way I thought when I first heard of the idea of a month honoring a specific group of people. It is stupid. It is pandering. It is divisive. It is the exact opposite of healing and unifying. These months encourage people to view themselves based on their gender or their ethnicity or the color of their skin, thinking of themselves in a way that is the exact opposite of what is healthy for themselves and best for society. We are all individuals. We are all unique unto ourselves. By lumping us into specific groups by criteria that do not or should not define us, is confining, putting us into a box.
If some white person or some man did something great, that is not a reflection on me, as a white male. It is a reflection of him. I do not get credit for what that white man did simply because I have the same skin color or the same sexual chromosomes. It doesn't work that way. Viewing the accomplishment as a reflection on ourselves, compels us to look at ourselves as a group and not as an individual. It removes individual accomplishment and accountability from the self, in favor of the group. It becomes dangerous and divisive. But these months are not designed to honor great accomplishments or great people; they are designed to promote the preferred group over other groups. The person and the accomplishment are only important because they do just that.
If we are going to identify with a group outside the self, it is most inclusive to identify with the entirety of the human race. The great accomplishments of all human beings show what we all are capable of doing, not just the accomplishments of people within our particular group. Identifying with the human race is expansive; identifying with one specific race or gender or group is restrictive. You only serve to limit yourself if you define yourself by these outward characteristics that define nothing about who you are to your core.
In the movie, First Man, which chronicles the United States astronauts landing on the moon, the director, Damien Chazelle, made the controversial decision not to show the astronauts planting the United States flag on the moon. Actor Ryan Gosling, who played Neil Armstrong in the movie, defended that decision by saying, the movie "celebrates an achievement 'for all mankind'." It was an accomplishment of humanity, not just of one country, one race, or one gender.
So, America and white men cannot specifically be celebrated for their accomplishments, they have to be celebrated as accomplishments for all mankind. Yet at the same time, when anyone in any of the other groups ever achieves anything, even if the feat had been accomplished decades prior, they are celebrated. The first woman to… the first black person to… the first Asian to… Just being the first from your preferred group to do anything that has been done for years, becomes the accomplishment itself.
We can't acknowledge walking on the moon as a white man's accomplishment or an American accomplishment, it must be framed as a human accomplishment. Which is fine. But when a black astronaut or a woman astronaut walks on the moon, it will be lauded as an accomplishment for black people or an accomplishment for women, even though, it had been accomplished over a half-century ago. When the criterion for an accomplishment is defined by the race or the gender of the person, then the true accomplishment becomes merely being a member of that specific race or gender. The actual feat is secondary to the membership to one of those specific groups, and the individual self-identity becomes lost and overshadowed by the group identity.
Maybe the reason why so many people are having identity crises these days is that people in our society are being forced to create their identities in things that are beyond their core self, based on immutable characteristics that define their group identity. But there is no racial identity, there is no gender identity. Those things do not exist. They are creations of the mind. You have a race and a gender, but your race and gender do not define who you are. They do not create your identity. Who you are as an individual defines what your identity is.
One of the charges of racism that is sometimes levied against white people is that "not all black people look alike." Which is absolutely correct. But not all black people think alike, not all white people think alike, not all women think alike, and not all men think alike. Not all black people, white people, men and women act alike either or have the same morality, or core beliefs. There is a diversity within the society-defined diversity groups that is so much more nuanced, profound, and determinative that it transcends the diversity groups themselves.
Is an act of courage or grace more or less profound based on which group the person committing the act belonged to? Why can't a white man be inspired by an accomplishment of a black woman or a black woman inspired by an accomplishment of a white man? Can't we all be inspired by an accomplishment of another human being by the mere fact that we share a common humanity, or do differences in ethnicity, race, or gender negate our human connection? This push for inclusivity is actually exclusive. The real racists and the real sexists are the ones who focus on and define the world based primarily on race and sex, and they are the ones who came up with these Group Identity History Months so that everyone would define themselves and the world by race and gender which only serves to divide us even further apart.
If you do not take an interest
in the affairs of your government,
then you are doomed to live under
the rule of fools.
Plato
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Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
Daily Memo: Israel and Iran's Calibrated Conflict
Despite their differences, the two countries have taken advantage of every opportunity to cooperate.
By: Hilal Khashan
March 9, 2023
For the past quarter century, Israel has endlessly reiterated its resolve to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, threatening to take military action should sanctions or diplomacy fail. Israel often launches preemptive attacks, it says to protect its citizens and territorial integrity. However, if Israel were seriously considering attacking Iran's nuclear program, it would have done so long ago. Since its founding in 1948, Israel has applied a preemptive war policy. Examples abound. In 1956, it joined the U.K. and France in attacking Egypt primarily to prevent its military from incorporating the Czech arms deal in battle operations. In 1981, the Israeli air force destroyed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, and in 2007, it bombed a nuclear facility in northern Syria.
Iran, meanwhile, has been careful to avoid direct confrontation with Israel, opting instead to rely on its proxies to do its bidding. For Tehran, the competition with Israel is strategic, not ideological or existential. Whereas ideology is often nonnegotiable, strategic issues lend themselves to compromise. Thus, though Iran and Israel are not friends, they're also not mortal enemies and have more in common than they have differences. In fact, Iran aspires to become a Middle Eastern power on par with Israel, and the two countries compete over space in the region. This piece traces the relationship between them since the 1979 Iranian Revolution to demonstrate that despite their differences, they've taken advantage of every opportunity to cooperate.
Israel's Combat Readiness
Experts agree that Israel's long-standing strategic position dictates maintaining operational preparedness to launch a preemptive strike against threats, including, but not limited to, Iran. In January, the U.S. and Israel held joint military exercises involving more than 140 planes in the Mediterranean. Given the magnitude of the aerial drills, the largest ever between the two countries, there was speculation in some media outlets about the possibility of an imminent attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. The maneuvers themselves were a procedural matter – the U.S. and Israel are strategic allies that regularly conduct training drills – so their occurrence doesn't necessarily indicate an impending military strike against Iran.
Still, the commander of the Israeli air force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, has said the air force could successfully attack Iran's nuclear facilities if necessary. Statements from previous Israeli officials support this position. Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Israel had the military capability and combat readiness to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. Former deputy chief of Mossad Ram Ben Barak said Israel possessed many varied abilities and could attack Iran because it was a nuclear state and can do whatever it wants. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also confirmed that his country could readily attack Iranian nuclear sites, stressing that it won't wait for permission from anyone to defend its security.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has downplayed these statements. Iran will never enter a direct military confrontation with Israel because for Tehran, the costs would exceed the benefits. Despite their repeated threats, Israeli officials know this. Iran refrained from enriching uranium at 90 percent to avoid unnecessary escalation. The commander of Israel's Force Design Directorate said his government prefers a diplomatic solution to stop Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Military and Economic Cooperation
Despite their antagonistic tone toward each other, historical relations between Israel and Iran have been quite the opposite. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, the two countries have covertly cooperated on several military and economic matters.
Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw revealed that Iran and Israel cooperated during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). Israel gave Iran information about military sites in western Iraq so it could bomb them. (In turn, Iran provided Israel with many pictures of an Iraqi nuclear reactor that Israel later destroyed.) The Iranian military appeared weak, frustrated, disorganized and divided in loyalties, and the U.S. hostage crisis and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's anti-American stance ruled out Iran's acquisition of U.S. military equipment that it desperately needed. Israeli leaders were concerned that this situation could lead to Iran's defeat.
Their concern stemmed from the fact that Israel viewed Iraq, not Iran, as its most significant strategic challenge. Therefore, Israel found in its support for Iran a force capable of arresting Iraq's regional rise, destroying its military power, denying it access to nuclear weapons, and curtailing its unconditional support for the Palestine Liberation Organization. When the Iran-Iraq War broke out, Israel's chief of staff, Rafael Eitan, expressed his country's satisfaction that each side would destroy the other, preventing Iraq from having a strategic role in any future war. Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan also held a press conference urging the U.S. to support Iran in its conflict against Iraq.
Former Israeli ambassador to Iran Uri Lubrani initiated the call for military assistance against Iraq. He hoped to restore relations with the Iranian armed forces, enabling them to overthrow the regime and Khomeini. Two weeks into the war, Israeli newspaper Al HaMishmar urged the Israeli government to provide military hardware to Iran to help it overpower Iraq, which vehemently opposed the Camp David Accords. Israel seemed convinced that Iran was the lesser of two evils, even though the discourse of the Iranian Revolution was as hostile to Israel as Saddam Hussein was. Because of Iraq's geographical proximity to Israel, and its participation in most of the wars Israel waged against its neighbors, Israel viewed it as one of its biggest threats if another conflict were to erupt. Israel therefore took a realistic approach, believing that the best possible outcome was to weaken both countries militarily and economically in a protracted war.
Official and unofficial statements in Israel indicated its desire to help Iran in the war, provided it abandoned its aggressive policy. The head of the Israeli army's southern command, Gen. Dan Shomron, confirmed that the war was in Israel's interest since it would push Iraq to direct all its forces toward the Iranian borders. Former Mossad spymaster David Kimche also said Israel's interest lay in the Iranian army being strong so it could defeat Iraq, their common enemy, and that Khomeini's ability to export his revolution and sow turmoil in Arab countries would serve Israel.
As the war intensified, Israel supplied Iran, starting in 1981, with rocket launchers, recoilless rifles and large quantities of ammunition. In October 1980, Israel shipped 250 spare parts for F4 aircraft to Iran through a Lebanese arms dealer, despite denials from an Israeli Defense Ministry spokesperson. In 1985 and 1986, the administration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan supplied Iran with anti-armor and anti-aircraft missiles through Israel to secure the release of U.S. hostages in Lebanon in what became known as the Iran Contra scandal. A month before their attack on an Iraqi nuclear reactor, Israeli agents discussed the airstrike plan with Khomeini's representatives in Paris, who allowed Israeli planes to land at Tabriz airport in case of an emergency.
When the PLO protested Iran's duplicitous policy, the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling the claims about its relationship with Israel mere lies aimed at undermining the Iranian Revolution and Iran's relationship with the Palestinians. The leader of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, Massoud Rajavi, who disappeared in 2003, criticized the arms cooperation between Iran and Israel and called Khomeini a hypocrite. Former Iranian President Abu al-Hasan Bani Sadr admitted that he was aware of a relationship between Iran and Israel but said he wasn't able to sway Khomeini against it.
Iran and Israel's solid economic ties were hampered by the fall of the shah and the rise of Khomeini, but they survived nevertheless. They still result in secret business deals reached in meetings in European and Gulf cities. In 2000, Iran asked an Israeli company to repair Tehran's sewage system. Israeli authorities have ignored a law, passed in 2008, prohibiting Israeli companies from doing business with Iran. At least 200 Israeli firms maintain commercial relations with Iran, including investments in Iranian energy. In 2011, the U.S. accused the Israeli Ofer Brothers Group of selling a tanker to Iran. Over a dozen of the company's tankers were docked in Iranian ports over the preceding decade. Israel built food factories in Iran and provided expertise on engineering and petroleum. It also exported to Iran fertilizers, irrigation pipes, hormones to increase milk yield and seeds, and imported pistachios, cashews and granite, which is popular in Israel.
Unnatural Hostility
The relationship between Iranians and Jews goes back more than 2,500 years. Jews revere Cyrus the Great, the just king of the Persians who conquered Babylon, freed the Jews from slavery and allowed them to return to their promised land. Soon after the establishment of Israel in 1948, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion developed the periphery doctrine to build bridges beyond the Arab world and foster strong relationships with Turkey, Iran and Ethiopia. Since then, Iran has featured prominently in Israeli foreign policy, even after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in 2015 he would support establishing diplomatic relations with Israel if it worked toward a two-state solution and withdrew from the areas it occupied in 1967.
Israel and Iran are the Arab countries' only remaining enemies in the Middle East. Iran's penetration of the region antagonizes the Arabs, who have warmed to the idea of normalizing relations with Israel in part as a response to Iranian expansionism. Israel does not object to Iran's domination of Iraq and its presence in Syria, so long as its Shiite affiliates do not approach the Golan Heights. Although the two countries profess extreme hostility toward each other, they govern their relationship through controls that enable them to cooperate when expedient. For Iran, pragmatism has taken precedence over revolutionary principles.
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"thanks to Barrel
January 6: "It is a gigantic lie that it was an insurrection"
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This Day in U S Military History
9 March
1938 – Comedian Bob Hope makes his first film appearance, singing "Thanks for the Memories" in The Big Broadcast of 1938. Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England, in 1903 and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, at age four. The son of a stonemason and a former concert singer, Hope worked as a newsboy, a soda jerk, a shoe salesman, and a boxer (under the name "Packy East") in his teens. Later, he joined the vaudeville circuit with a song-and-dance routine, making his debut in 1924 in a Fatty Arbuckle revue. Hope began appearing in comedy shorts in the 1930s. He appeared on Broadway for the first time in 1933 and made his radio debut in 1935 as a cast member of The Intimate Revue. In 1938, he was picked to star in The Big Broadcast. Since he had already committed to a radio contract in New York at the same time, he moved to Hollywood to film the movie, and delivered his radio monologues via a long-distance wire hook-up to the New York studio. Hope's popularity grew in 1939 with the film Cat and the Canary. In 1940, he co-starred with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour in the Road to Singapore, the first of seven Road movies he made with Crosby and Lamour. In most of the years between 1941 and 1953, Hope ranked among Hollywood's Top 10 moneymaking stars. He regularly appeared on television shows like The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. From 1953 to 1994, he hosted a Christmas television special that was broadcast internationally. Hope also tirelessly entertained American troops stationed throughout the world during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. He made more than 700 trips to American military bases and hospitals around the world, entertaining some 10,000 troops. These efforts earned him five special Academy Awards and the nickname "Mr. Humanitarian." President John F. Kennedy once called him "America's most prized ambassador of goodwill throughout the world," and the United States Congress made him an "honorary veteran" in 1997-an unprecedented gesture. Hope has won more than 2,000 awards and citations, including 54 honorary doctorates, an honorary knighthood, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1985, he was awarded the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for Lifetime Achievement. His accolades earned him the title "Most Decorated and Honored Entertainer" in the Guinness Book of Records.
1945 – U.S. warplanes launch a new bombing offensive against Japan, dropping 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Tokyo. Almost 16 square miles in and around the Japanese capital were incinerated, and between 80,000 and 130,000 Japanese civilians were killed in the worst single firestorm in recorded history. Early on March 9, Air Force crews met on the Mariana Islands of Tinian and Saipan for a military briefing. They were planning a low-level bombing attack on Tokyo that would begin that evening, but with a twist: Their planes would be stripped of all guns except for the tail turret. The decrease in weight would increase the speed of each Superfortress bomber-and would also increase its bomb load capacity by 65 percent, making each plane able to carry more than seven tons. Speed would be crucial, and the crews were warned that if they were shot down, all haste was to be made for the water, which would increase their chances of being picked up by American rescue crews. Should they land within Japanese territory, they could only expect the very worst treatment by civilians, as the mission that night was going to entail the deaths of tens of thousands of those very same civilians. "You're going to deliver the biggest firecracker the Japanese have ever seen," said U.S. Gen. Curtis LeMay. The cluster bombing of the downtown Tokyo suburb of Shitamachi had been approved only a few hours earlier. Shitamachi was composed of roughly 750,000 people living in cramped quarters in wooden-frame buildings. Setting ablaze this "paper city" was a kind of experiment in the effects of firebombing; it would also destroy the light industries, called "shadow factories," that produced prefabricated war materials destined for Japanese aircraft factories. The denizens of Shitamachi never had a chance of defending themselves. Their fire brigades were hopelessly undermanned, poorly trained, and poorly equipped. At 5:34 p.m., Superfortress B-29 bombers took off from Saipan and Tinian, reaching their target at 12:15 a.m. on March 10. Three hundred and thirty-four bombers, flying at a mere 500 feet, dropped their loads, creating a giant bonfire fanned by 30-knot winds that helped raze Shitamachi and spread the flames throughout Tokyo. Masses of panicked and terrified Japanese civilians scrambled to escape the inferno, most unsuccessfully. The human carnage was so great that the blood-red mists and stench of burning flesh that wafted up sickened the bomber pilots, forcing them to grab oxygen masks to keep from vomiting. The raid lasted slightly longer than three hours. "In the black Sumida River, countless bodies were floating, clothed bodies, naked bodies, all black as charcoal. It was unreal," recorded one doctor at the scene. Only 243 American airmen were lost-considered acceptable losses.
1953 – Responding to press reports that U.S. pilots routinely pursued communist jets across the Manchurian border, Commander in Chief Far East asserted that UN pilots broke off engagements at the Yalu River boundary, enabling many damaged MiGs to escape, although some border violations might have occurred in the heat of combat. Informing the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff that air operations in Korea were conducted strictly within limitations established by appropriate authority, he also directed Far East Air Forces to comply with directives concerning violation of the Manchurian border.
1970 – The U.S. Marines turn over control of the five northernmost provinces in South Vietnam to the U.S. Army. The Marines had been responsible for this area since they first arrived in South Vietnam in 1965. The change in responsibility for this area was part of President Richard Nixon's initiative to reduce U.S. troop levels as the South Vietnamese accepted more responsibility for the fighting. After the departure of the 3rd Marine Division from Vietnam in late 1969, the 1st Marine Division was the only marine division left operating in South Vietnam.
1974 – Last Japanese soldier, a guerrilla operating in Philippines, surrendered, 29 years after World War II ended.
2011 – Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights and 149 million miles. NASA offered Discovery to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum for public display and preservation, after a month-long decontamination process, as part of the national collection. Discovery replaced Enterprise in the Smithsonian's display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. Discovery was transported to Washington Dulles International Airport on April 17, 2012, and was transferred to the Udvar-Hazy on April 19 where a welcome ceremony was held. Afterwards, at around 5: 30 pm, Discovery was rolled to its "final wheels stop" in the Udvar Hazy Center
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
CLUTE, GEORGE W.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company I, 14th Michigan Infantry. Place and date: At Bentonville, N.C., 19 March 1865. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Marathon, Mich. Date of issue: 26 August 1898. Citation: In a charge, captured the flag of the 40th North Carolina (C.S.A.), the flag being taken in a personal encounter with an officer who carried and defended it.
WILLIAMS, PETER
Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1831, Norway, Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 11, 3 April 1863. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Ironclad Steamer Monitor, Hampton Roads, 9 March 1862. During the engagement between the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Merrimack, Williams gallantly served throughout the engagement as quartermaster, piloting the Monitor throughout the battle in which the Merrimack, after being damaged, retired from the scene of the battle.
*JULIAN, JOSEPH RODOLPH
Rank and organization: Platoon Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 3 April 1918, Sturbridge, Mass. Accredited to: Massachusetts. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a P/Sgt. serving with the 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the seizure of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, 9 March 1945. Determined to force a breakthrough when Japanese troops occupying trenches and fortified positions on the left front laid down a terrific machinegun and mortar barrage in a desperate effort to halt his company's advance, P/Sgt. Julian quickly established his platoon's guns in strategic supporting positions, andthen, acting on his own initiative, fearlessly moved forward to execute a 1-man assault on the nearest pillbox. Advancing alone, he hurled deadly demolition and white phosphorus grenades into the emplacement, killing 2 of the enemy and driving the remaining 5 out into the adjoining trench system. Seizing a discarded rifle, he jumped into the trench and dispatched the 5 before they could make an escape. Intent on wiping out all resistance, he obtained more explosives and, accompanied by another marine, again charged the hostile fortifications and knocked out 2 more cave positions. Immediately thereafter, he launched a bazooka attack unassisted, firing 4 rounds into the 1 remaining pillbox and completely destroying it before he fell, mortally wounded by a vicious burst of enemy fire. Stouthearted and indomitable, P/Sgt. Julian consistently disregarded all personal danger and, by his bold decision, daring tactics, and relentless fighting spirit during a critical phase of the battle, contributed materially to the continued advance of his company and to the success of his division's operations in the sustained drive toward the conquest of this fiercely defended outpost of the Japanese Empire. His outstanding valor and unfaltering spirit of self-sacrifice throughout the bitter conflict sustained and enhanced the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
HARVEY, RAYMOND
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company C, 17th Infantry Regiment. Place and date: Vicinity of Taemi-Dong, Korea, 9 March 1951. Entered service at: Pasadena, Calif. Born: 1 March 1920 Ford City, Pa. G.O. No.: 67, 2 August 1951. Citation: Capt. Harvey Company C, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action. When his company was pinned down by a barrage of automatic weapons fire from numerous well-entrenched emplacements, imperiling accomplishment of its mission, Capt. Harvey braved a hail of fire and exploding grenades to advance to the first enemy machine gun nest, killing its crew with grenades. Rushing to the edge of the next emplacement, he killed its crew with carbine fire. He then moved the 1st Platoon forward until it was again halted by a curtain of automatic fire from well fortified hostile positions. Disregarding the hail of fire, he personally charged and neutralized a third emplacement. Miraculously escaping death from intense crossfire, Capt. Harvey continued to lead the assault. Spotting an enemy pillbox well camouflaged by logs, he moved close enough to sweep the emplacement with carbine fire and throw grenades through the openings, annihilating its 5 occupants. Though wounded he then turned to order the company forward, and, suffering agonizing pain, he continued to direct the reduction of the remaining hostile positions, refusing evacuation until assured that the mission would be accomplished. Capt. Harvey's valorous and intrepid actions served as an inspiration to his company, reflecting the utmost glory upon himself and upholding the heroic traditions of the military service.
JACOBS, JACK H.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, U.S. Army Element, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Republic of Vietnam. Place and date: Kien Phong Province, Republic of Vietnam, 9 March 1968. Entered service at: Trenton, N.J. Born: 2 August 1945, Brooklyn, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Jacobs (then 1st Lt.), Infantry, distinguished himself while serving as assistant battalion advisor, 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The 2d Battalion was advancing to contact when it came under intense heavy machine gun and mortar fire from a Viet Cong battalion positioned in well fortified bunkers. As the 2d Battalion deployed into attack formation its advance was halted by devastating fire. Capt. Jacobs, with the command element of the lead company, called for and directed air strikes on the enemy positions to facilitate a renewed attack. Due to the intensity of the enemy fire and heavy casualties to the command group, including the company commander, the attack stopped and the friendly troops became disorganized. Although wounded by mortar fragments, Capt. Jacobs assumed command of the allied company, ordered a withdrawal from the exposed position and established a defensive perimeter. Despite profuse bleeding from head wounds which impaired his vision, Capt. Jacobs, with complete disregard for his safety, returned under intense fire to evacuate a seriously wounded advisor to the safety of a wooded area where he administered lifesaving first aid. He then returned through heavy automatic weapons fire to evacuate the wounded company commander. Capt. Jacobs made repeated trips across the fire-swept open rice paddies evacuating wounded and their weapons. On 3 separate occasions, Capt. Jacobs contacted and drove off Viet Cong squads who were searching for allied wounded and weapons, single-handedly killing 3 and wounding several others. His gallant actions and extraordinary heroism saved the lives of 1 U.S. advisor and 13 allied soldiers. Through his effort the allied company was restored to an effective fighting unit and prevented defeat of the friendly forces by a strong and determined enemy. Capt. Jacobs, by his gallantry and bravery in action in the highest traditions of the military service, has reflected great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
ADKINS, BENNIE G.
Rank and Organization: Sergeant First Class. U.S. Army, Detachment A-102, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces. Place and Date: Camp A Shau, Republic of Vietnam, March 9-12, 1966. Entered Service At: Waurika, Oklahoma. Born: 1 February 1934, Waurika, Okla. Departed: No. G.O. Number:. Date of Issue: 09/15/2014. Accredited To:. Citation: Sergeant First Class Adkins distinguished himself during the period 9 March 1966 to 12 March 1966 during combat operations at Camp A Shau, Republic of Vietnam. When the camp was attacked by a large Viet Cong force, Sergeant First Class Adkins rushed through intense hostile fire and manned a mortar position. Although he was wounded, he ran through exploding mortar rounds and dragged several of his comrades to safety. When the hostile fire subsided, Sergeant First Class Adkins exposed himself to sporadic sniper fire and carried his wounded comrades to the camp dispensary. During the evacuation of a seriously wounded American, Sergeant First Class Adkins maneuvered outside the camp walls to draw fire and successfully covered the rescue. During the early morning hours of 10 March 1966, a Viet Cong regiment launched their main attack. Within two hours, Sergeant First Class Adkins was the only man firing a mortar weapon. Although he was painfully wounded and most of his crew was killed or wounded, he fought off the fanatical waves of attacking Viet Cong. After withdrawing to a communications bunker where several Americans were attempting to fight off a company of Viet Cong, Sergeant First Class Adkins killed numerous insurgents with his suppressive fire. Running extremely low on ammunition, he returned to the mortar pit, gathered the vital ammunition, and ran through intense fire back to the communications bunker. After being ordered to evacuate the camp, all signal equipment and classified documents were destroyed. Sergeant First Class Adkins and a small group of men fought their way out of the camp and evaded the Viet Cong for two days until they were rescued by a helicopter. Sergeant First Class Adkins' extraordinary heroism in close combat against a numerically superior hostile force was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for March 9, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
9 March
1927: The Navy bought its first transport, the JR-1 trimotor, from the Ford Motor Company. (24) Capt Hawthorne C. Gray set an FAI altitude record of 28,510 feet for subclass A-8 (2,200 to 3,000 cubic meters capacity and A-9 balloons (3,000 to 4,000 cubic meters). (9)
1940: TSgt T. A. Petra (USMC) piloted an AD-17A Beechcraft biplane to 21,050 feet in altitude--a probable record altitude above Antarctica--to measure cosmic rays for the US Antarctic Expedition. (5)
1945: Changing tactics to low-altitude flights to double the bombload, the XXI Bomber Command dispatched more than 300 B-29s on an incendiary night raid from the Marianas Islands against Tokyo. They destroyed about 25 percent of the city. Previously, the bombers conducted high altitude daylight attacks against specific targets. (21)
1955: In a F-84F Thunderstreak, Lt Col Robert R. Scott set a 3-hour, 44-minute, 53-second record for the 2,446-mile flight from Los Angeles to New York. (9) (24)
1956: The Boeing B-52C Stratofortress first flew. (5) Hollywood filmed "Toward the Unknown" at Edwards AFB. (5)
1959: F-102 CONVERSION. The 16 FIS at Naha AB, Okinawa, became the first squadron in PACAF to convert to Convair's F-102 Delta Dagger. The unit, previously equipped with F-86D Sabres, became operationally ready later in September. (17)
1971: Thomas C. McMurtry, a NASA engineer and pilot, flew an F-8 fighter with a supercritical wing for the first time. (5)
1976: The Defense Systems Acquisition Review Council approved the M-X concept, the system validation plans, and the preference for the buried trench basing. (6) After a coal mine disaster in Whitesburg, Ky., two 314 TAW C-130s from Little Rock AFB airlifted rescue teams and equipment. (18)
1977: The 354 TFW at Myrtle Beach AFB received the first A-10 for hands-on training. (11)
1979: Cadet Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince of Iran, graduated from undergraduate pilot training at Reese AFB, Texas. (16) Operation FLYING STAR. Two E-3 AWACS deployed to Saudi Arabia to respond to a threat to that country's southern border. (21)
1993: A Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird came out of retirement to fly a scientific flight for NASA at the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB. The aircraft, outfitted with an ultraviolet video camera, flew to nearly 83,000 feet to collect 140,000 images of stars and comets (20)
1998: Through 9 April, Air Mobility Command performed 104 airlift and 110 air refueling missions for a 6-nation tour of Africa. On 22 March, President Clinton--with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, and a large official party on Air Force One-- left Andrews AFB on a 12-day journey through sub-Saharan Africa. It was the first time a sitting American president had visited Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana, and Senegal. (22)
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