To All,
Good Sunday morning April 2 2023.
I hope that you are all having a great weekend. But the weather guys just threw in a rainy Monday.
Regards,
Skip
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History April 2
1781
During the American Revolution, the Continental frigate Alliance, commanded by John Barry, captures the British privateers Mars and Minerva off the coast of France.
1916
Lt. R.C. Saufley sets an altitude record for a Navy aircraft, 16,072 feet in a Curtiss pusher type hydroplane at Pensacola, Fla., bettering the record he set on March 29 that was set with a record of 16,010 feet.
1943
USS Tunny (SS 282) sinks the Japanese transport No.2 Toyo Maru west of Truk.
1951
Two F9F-2B Panthers of VF-191, each loaded with four 250- and two 100-pound general-purpose bombs, are catapulted from USS Princeton (CV 37) for an attack on a railroad bridge near Songjin, North Korea. This mission is the first US Navy use of a jet fighter as a bomber.
1960
After floods cause destruction at Paramaribo, Suriname, USS Glacier (AGB 4) begins 12 days of relief operations, providing helicopter and boat transportation and emergency supplies to the residents.
1991
USS Chicago (SSN 721) arrives at San Diego, Calif., homeport following Operation Desert Storm. During the six-month deployment, the attack submarine works with US and coalition forces deployed to the Southwest Asia area of operations, conducting surveillance and reconnaissance operations.
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This day in World history April 2,
1792 The United States authorizes the minting of the $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & 2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins as well as the silver dollar, dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime.
1796 Haitian revolt leader Toussaint L'Ouverture takes command of French forces at Santo Domingo.
1801 The British navy defeats the Danish at the Battle of Copenhagen.
1865 Confederate President Jefferson Davis flees Richmond, Virginia as Grant breaks Lee's line at Petersburg.
1910 Karl Harris perfects the process for the artificial synthesis of rubber.
1914 The U.S. Federal Reserve Board announces plans to divide the country into 12 districts.
1917 President Woodrow Wilson presents a declaration of war against Germany to Congress.
1917 Jeannette Pickering Rankin is sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1931 Virne "Jackie" Mitchell becomes the first woman to play for an all-male pro baseball team. In an exhibition game against the New York Yankees, she strikes out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
1932 Charles Lindbergh pays over $50,000 ransom for his kidnapped son.
1944 Soviet forces enter Romania, one of Germany's allied countries.
1958 The National Advisory Council on Aeronautics is renamed NASA.
1963 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King begins the first non-violent campaign in Birmingham, Alabama.
1982 Argentina invades the British-owned Falkland Islands.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
Skip… For The List for Sunday, 2 April 2023… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.come post for 2 April 1968…
Pentagon Papers summary of Rolling Thunder…
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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Thanks to Newell
Most, if not all, of THE LIST recipients have probably served OUTUS tours. Wherein, they likely saw amusing signage similar to the following.
Newell
TORTURED ENGLISH
FOR TOURISTS
WELL-SPEECHED HERE!
(Taken from around the world.)
A greeting tacked inside the door of a Moscow hotel room:
If this is your first visit to the U.S.S.R.,
you are welcome to it.
A Brussels clothing store sign:
Come inside and have a fit.
A Rumanian hotel elevator notice:
The lift is being fixed for the next days.
During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.
A German hospital sign:
No children allowed in the maternity wards.
A Scottish harbor sign:
For Sale boat, single owner green in color.
An Istanbul dentist's doorway sign:
American dentist, second floor.
Teeth extracted by latest methodists.
A Budapest zoo sign:
Please do not feed the animals.
If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty.
An Athens hotel concierge's desk sign:
If you consider our help impolite,
you should see the manager.
A Kowloon hotel notice to guests:
Is forbidden to steal hotel towels.
If you are not person to do such,
please not to read notice.
A Copenhagen airline ticket office sign:
We take your bags and send them in all directions.
A Lisbon hotel room-service notice:
If you wish for breakfast, lift the telephone and ask for room service. This will be enough for you to bring your food up.
A Seville tailor's sign:
Order now your summer suit.
Because is big rush season,
we will execute customers in strict rotation.
A London eatery advertises:
Wanted: man to wash dishes and two waitresses.
A Rome laundry sign:
Ladies, leave your clothes here and
spend the afternoon having a good time.
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Thanks to Brett
The STRATFOR Weekly Rundown
KEY DEVELOPMENTS WE'RE TRACKING
Israel's Cabinet votes on a new national guard. The vote on whether to authorize a new national guard under the control of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir will occur April 2. Ben-Gvir has proposed a 2,000-strong force focused on crime and terrorism, but critics believe it will serve as Ben-Gvir's own personal force for deployment against Arab communities and the opposition. Special legislation and budgeting will be required before the force launches, and the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet and Border Police are likely to object to creating a new security entity that might pull resources from their budgets. The proposal is also already generating protests that will feed into wider opposition sentiment that the Israeli government is undermining the country's democratic values for the benefit of the far right.
Von der Leyen and Macron visit China. French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel April 4 to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Unlike German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited China on his own last November 2022 (reportedly rejecting Macron's proposal for a joint trip), the French president is stressing that his visit comes in full coordination with the rest of Europe, as highlighted by his invitation for von der Leyen to accompany him. Ahead of the visit, von der Leyen gave a speech on EU-China relations, highlighting Brussels' intention to harden its stance on China and "de-risk" its relationship with Beijing. Both Macron and Von der Leyen are expected to pressure Beijing to refrain from providing arms to Moscow for its war in Ukraine.
Tsai visits California and Central America. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen will arrive April 5 in Los Angeles for a two-day trip in the United States during which she is widely expected to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — the first such meeting by a Taiwanese president with a house speaker in the United States — and as many as 20 other U.S. lawmakers. Beijing may respond to this meeting with escalated military coercion, such as aerial incursions into Taiwan's extended (non-territorial) airspace with a large number of planes and naval deployments in international waters off of Taiwan's coasts. These activities are not expected to be as intense as the military drills that China launched around Taiwan in August 2022, which amounted to a partial blockade of Taiwan's main ports. Prior to the California trip, Tsai will meet with the presidents of Belize and Guatemala. He could offer their countries financial support in the form of new investment and development projects as an incentive to maintain their diplomatic alliance with Taiwan amid growing pressure from China to switch their allegiance to the mainland.
Lavrov visits Turkey. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on April 6-7 will visit Turkey for meetings with his counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to discuss bilateral cooperation, with particular emphasis on trade, energy and tourism. The ministers also will likely exchange views on the situation in Ukraine, Syria, the South Caucasus, Central Asia and Afghanistan, and will reportedly agree on a schedule of bilateral contacts at various levels, a reference to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's March 29 announcement that Russian President Vladimir Putin could visit Turkey on April 27 to attend the loading of fuel at Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which is being constructed by Russia on terms highly favorable to Turkey and that will eventually provide up to 10% of Turkey's electricity needs. Lavrov's visit comes amid recent reports that Turkish authorities are stepping up efforts to prevent exporters from moving sanctioned goods to Russia, a primary concern Lavrov will raise with his Cavusoglu that could dissuade Putin from visiting.
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Thanks to Carl
Air Force F-15 paint job honors WWII hero who gave up his parachute
BY MAX HAUPTMAN | PUBLISHED JUL 22, 2022 9:59 AM EDT
This is one slick looking F-15 Eagle.
Assigned to the Oregon Air National Guard's 173rd Fighter Wing, the aircraft's paint scheme is designed to honor the namesake of the 173rd Fighter Wing's Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, 2nd Lt. David R. Kingsley, who received the Medal of Honor during World War II.
On June 23, 1944, Kinglsey was serving as the bombardier of a B-17 on a mission over the Romanian oil fields at Ploesti. During the raid, Kingsley's aircraft was heavily damaged and the tail gunner, Michael J. Sullivan, was wounded. Kingsley administered first aid to Sullivan and another wounded crewmember as the badly damaged B-17 lost altitude. The pilot eventually gave the order to bail out, but Sullivan's parachute had been damaged, at which point Kingsley removed his own chute and strapped in onto the wounded man. Kingsley then remained with the aircraft until it crashed.
The F-15's paint scheme was unveiled in 2019, 75 years after Kinglsey's death. Kinglsey's portrait, set over Oregon's Crater Lake, is stenciled on the tail. The rest of the paint scheme is also reflective of the Army Air Corps of Kingsley's day. The mottled greens and browns are similar to those many B-17s had, and the F-15's wings are also painted with the distinctive black and white "invasion stripes" that were meant to denote allied aircraft. The nose is also stenciled with art from the squadron and group that Kingsley flew with.
At the unveiling in 2019, the 173rd Fighter Wing's commander, Col. Jeffrey Edwards, read from a letter Sullivan had written to Kingsley's oldest surviving brother in 1945.
"'Tommy, I am more than grateful that my life was spared by your brother Dave giving up his life so that I could live,'" read Edwards. "'I am not ashamed to admit when I think of Dave I also have tears come into my eyes, if it weren't for me getting wounded Dave's life would have been saved.'"
Born in Portland, Oregon, Kingsley grew up there and worked as a firefighter before enlistingin April, 1942. Commissioned a year later, he was eventually assigned as a bombardier in the 97th Bomb Group.
At the 2019 dedication of the F-15, Edwards described Kingsley's own account of his first mission on April 29, 1944.
"'lots of flak—got a piece in the nose and missed me by two inches it seemed like it was glass off the nose, then I come to the wing-fast and a piece hit me on the hand—the pain did not stay with me,'" read Edwards.
Kinglsey was flying his 20th mission when he was killed two months later. The Medal of Honor was presented to his family the following April.
The Air Force has no shortage of interesting and unique paint schemes for some of its aircraft, and this one can certainly take its place on the list.
The Medal of Honor citation for 2nd Lt. David R. Kingsley can be read in its entirety below:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, 23 June 1944 near Ploesti, Rumania, while flying as bombardier of a B-17 type aircraft. On the bomb run 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft was severely damaged by intense flak and forced to drop out of formation, but the pilot proceeded over the target and 2d Lt. Kingsley successfully dropped his bombs, causing severe damage to vital installations. The damaged aircraft, forced to lose altitude and to lag behind the formation, was aggressively attacked by three ME-109 aircraft, causing more damage to the aircraft and severely wounding the tail gunner in the upper arm. The radio operator and engineer notified 2d Lt. Kingsley that the tail gunner had been wounded and that assistance was needed to check the bleeding. Second Lt. Kingsley made his way back to the radio room, skillfully applied first aid to the wound, and succeeded in checking the bleeding. The tail gunner's parachute harness and heavy clothes were removed and he was covered with blankets, making him as comfortable as possible. Eight ME-109 aircraft again aggressively attacked 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft and the ball turret gunner was wounded by 20-mm shell fragments. He went forward to the radio room to have 2d Lt. Kingsley administer first aid. A few minutes later when the pilot gave the order to prepare to bail out, 2d Lt. Kingsley immediately began to assist the wounded gunners in putting on their parachute harness. In the confusion, the tail gunner's harness, believed to have been damaged, could not be located in the bundle of blankets and flying clothes which had been removed from the wounded men. With utter disregard for his own means of escape, 2d Lt. Kingsley unhesitatingly removed his parachute harness and adjusted it to the wounded tail gunner. Due to the extensive damage caused by the accurate and concentrated 20-mm fire by the enemy aircraft the pilot gave the order to bail out, as it appeared that the aircraft would disintegrate at any moment. Second Lt. Kingsley aided the wounded men in bailing out and when last seen by the crewmembers he was standing on the bomb bay catwalk. The aircraft continued to fly on automatic pilot for a short distance, then crashed and burned. His body was later found in the wreckage. Second Lt. Kingsley by his gallant and heroic action was directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded gunner.
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Thanks to Carl
The Gray Iron Fitness Newsletter, Issue #345
Logan Franklin
A Fitness Plan
Of all the tools used for measuring health and fitness, a simple cloth tape measure may be one of the best. Measuring the circumference of your waist will tell you more about your fitness than either scales or the Body Mass Index (BMI) formula. Or, put another way, Jack LaLanne used to say, "Your waistline is your lifeline."
Then along came trainer and author Jon Benson (Fit Over 40) who took the tape measure method a step further, using a waistline-to-height formula as a predictor of heart disease. Mr. Benson tells us to measure right below the navel, and not pull the tape measure too tight. Write down that number in inches. Then measure your height (without shoes) in inches. Write that down too.
Multiply the result of your waist measurement by two. If the number is greater than your height, you are four times more likely to get heart disease. It's more predictive than cholesterol tests, he says. And the medical profession seems to agree.
Okay, that's all well and good. But now let's suppose that you don't belong to a health club, and you haven't got a set of barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, or resistance bands. You know you're out of shape and want to start getting in shape right now. Here is one good way to do it.
First, begin by walking every other day. Start with five minutes on the first day and add five more minutes to each walk until you reach 30 minutes. Then maintain your 30-minute walks every other day. Step up your pace a bit when it gets too easy.
Next, on the days that you do not walk, do the following no-equipment-needed exercises. These ar e guaranteed to get your heart pumping — if you push it. Or they can be slowed down for beginners or older seniors. My advice is to start slowly, and gradually build up.
Here we go.
No. 1. Burpees. For a refresher course, watch the brief video.
No. 2. Mountain Climbers. A favorite of the military. Daughter Jennifer demonstrates.
No. 3. Side Split Squats. Popular in martial arts, and for good reason.
Your regular exercise plan has been established and you're on your way to a fitness lifestyle.
Just one more thing: Let's move on to eating habits.
As important regular exercise is, you cannot out exercise a poor diet. If you are overweight, you must regularly eat less. There is no other way to achieve a healthy body weight. Please go here to get on the right track.
You'll never regret it.
Stay healthy. Stay Fit.
Logan
Senior Exercise Central
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Thanks to Dr.Rich
Emergency Landing of the week
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/cm/michigan-rookie-pilot-pulls-off-011620961.html
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The battle for Okinawa started yesterday 1 April 1945 and lasted 82 days. You can read the intro below and/or click on the two below to learn a whole lot more about the largest landing in US History.
1945
Battle for Okinawa
Battle for Okinawa Medal of Honor Recipients
Overview
On the very day that the Marines declared organized resistance over on Iwo Jima (16 March 1945), Admiral Raymond Spruance, Fifth Fleet commander, was on board his flagship Indianapolis (CA-35), enroute to the Ryukyus in company with Admiral Marc Mitscher's Fast Carrier Task Force 58 (TF 58). In the coming weeks, more than 1,600 ships and 350,000 naval personnel from other task forces under Spruance's overall command would assemble to form the largest amphibious assault force of World War II. Their objective would be to secure the island of Okinawa, thus removing the last barrier standing between the U.S. forces and Imperial Japan. With both this and Iwo Jima firmly in hand, the U.S. military could finally bring its full might to bear upon the Japanese, conducting unchecked strategic air strikes against the Japanese mainland, blockading its logistical lifeline, and establishing forward bases for the final invasion of Japan (Operation Olympic) in the fall of 1945. Before then, however, they would have to endure one of the most brutal battles of the war. A preview of the carnage that awaited came on 19 March while TF 58 conducted strikes against targets on mainland Japan to prepare for the invasion. During the launch of strikes against Honshū and Kobe Harbor, Franklin (CV-13) was hit by two bombs from a Japanese dive bomber. Her crew heroically saved their ship, but more than 800 Sailors died in the attack.
The Japanese military was greatly diminished by this point, but U.S. Navy planners fully anticipated that the ferocity of their resistance would increase the closer they got to the mainland. With the action now mainly concentrated around the Central Philippines and the Ryukus, the Japanese were now close enough to bring their land-based aircraft at Taiwan and Kyushu to bear. They would not, however, be using them to conduct conventional air campaign, but rather, to act as human-guided missiles against U.S. forces. Such tactics had previously been deployed at Leyte Gulf, Luzon and Lingayen, and Iwo Jima, but not on a particularly alarming scale. Now, with Fifth Fleet so close to the Japanese mainland, Navy planners feared that as many as 3,000–4,000 planes could be expected. Regrettably, these estimates proved to be quite on the mark, with the prolonged land battle enabling the Japanese to launch numerous air attacks that proved even more effective than anticipated. Spruance received an early taste of what was to come on 31 March when a diving kamikaze clipped his flagship Indianapolis, severely damaging her with a bomb as it splashed into the sea. This forced Indianapolis to San Francisco for repairs and placed her on a fateful trajectory.
Despite this threat from above, the initial stages of Okinawa proceeded as planned. Minesweeping, pre-invasion bombardments from warships, and tactical strikes from carrier-based aircraft paved the way for an uncontested amphibious landing of Lt. General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr.'s U.S. Tenth Army (made up of U.S. Army Soldiers from the 96th and 7th Army Divisions, as well as Marines from the 1st and 6th Divisions) on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1945 (L-Day). The force landed on the western side of the island close to the primary objective, two airstrips. Incredibly, these too were taken without contest. Immediately after, the ground force split. Marines moved northeast to secure the northern portion of the island, while the Army moved south towards Shuri. By mid-April, the Marines secured their less defended portion. Army forces, on the other hand, faced more formidable defenses, which led to a slower, more methodical advance. Later joined by the Marines, Army forces slogged it out with the Japanese, suffering high casualties against the well-defended Shuri Line. The fierce nature of the fighting and appalling numbers of casualties taken by U.S. forces continued into June, with the total number of American casualties reaching 49,151, of which 12,520 were killed or missing
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I was thinking that for the home front the end of 1944 and the first 6 months of 1945 with the Batttle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima and then Okinawa it must have been pretty rough with all the casualties. It took a long time to get any information home from the front in those days. Fast forward to the Vietnam war and it took about two weeks to get a letter home and two more to receive an answer. Nowadays they have email and cell phones . I remember my last cruise on the USS Midway in 72-73. The news went out to home very fast on Shoot downs ( no names just aircraft type) and there were only 4 of us RF-8 PILOTS On The USS Midway so each time we lost one my parents did not know for weeks who was involved and we lost two. One POW and one picked up by friendlies. My dad said that it was a tough time at home not knowing the real story …..Skip
Thanks to Carl
The freezing hell of the Battle of the Bulge: Colorized images show resilience of US troops in snow camouflage advancing on Ardennes and tank crews huddling together in front of camp fires ahead of one of the most brutal encounters of WWII Germany launched the offensive against the Allies on December 16, 1944 - Hitler's last offensive of the war US troops fought back and held off the Siege of Bastogne but thousands of people including civilians died These colorized photographs show the freezing conditions soldiers fighting in the battle had to content with
More From Wikipedia
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Counteroffensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II, and took place from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg, towards the end of the war in Europe. The offensive was intended to stop Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and to split the Allied lines, allowing the Germans to encircle and destroy four Allied armies and force the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis powers' favor.
The Germans achieved a total surprise attack on the morning of 16 December 1944, due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance due to bad weather. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's armored forces, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and, later, Luftwaffe aircraft (in the concluding stages of the engagement) also sustained heavy losses. The Germans had attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of heavily overcast weather conditions that grounded the Allies' overwhelmingly superior air forces. Fierce resistance on the northern shoulder of the offensive, around Elsenborn Ridge, and in the south, around Bastogne, blocked German access to key roads to the northwest and west that they counted on for success. Columns of armor and infantry that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This, and terrain that favored the defenders, threw the German advance behind schedule and allowed the Allies to reinforce the thinly placed troops. The farthest west the offensive reached was the village of Foy-Nôtre-Dame, south east of Dinant, being stopped by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division on 24 December 1944.[15][16][17] Improved weather conditions from around 24 December permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. On 26 December the lead element of Patton's U.S. Third Army reached Bastogne from the south, ending the siege. Although the offensive was effectively broken by 27 December, when the trapped units of 2nd Panzer Division made two break-out attempts with only partial success, the battle continued for another month before the front line was effectively restored to its position prior to the attack. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, as survivors retreated to the defenses of the Siegfried Line.
The Germans' initial attack involved 410,000 men; just over 1,400 tanks, tank destroyers, and assault guns; 2,600 artillery pieces; 1,600 anti-tank guns; and over 1,000 combat aircraft, as well as large numbers of other armored fighting vehicles (AFVs).[4] These were reinforced a couple of weeks later, bringing the offensive's total strength to around 450,000 troops, and 1,500 tanks and assault guns. Between 63,222 and 98,000 of these men were killed, missing, wounded in action, or captured. For the Americans, out of a peak of 610,000 troops,[18] 89,000[5] became casualties out of which some 19,000 were killed.[5][19] The "Bulge" was the largest and bloodiest single battle fought by the United States in World War II[20][21][22] and the third-deadliest campaign in American history.
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This Day in U S Military History April 2
1945 – On Okinawa, forces of the US 10th Army easily advance across the island to the east coast and make some progress to the north and south. At sea, in addition to the bombardment and air support missions performed by the US naval forces, there are attacks by the British carriers on Skashima Gunto Island. In Japanese Kamikaze attacks four US transports are badly damaged with many casualties among the troops aboard.
1975 – As North Vietnamese tanks and infantry continue to push the remnants of South Vietnam's 22nd Division and waves of civilian refugees from the Quang Ngai Province, the South Vietnamese Navy begins to evacuate soldiers and civilians by sea from Qui Nhon. Shortly thereafter, the South Vietnamese abandoned Tuy Hoa and Nha Trang, leaving the North Vietnamese in control of more than half of South Vietnam's territory. During the first week in April, communist forces attacking from the south pushed into Long An Province, just south of Saigon, threatening to cut Highway 4, Saigon's main link with the Mekong Delta, which would have precluded reinforcements from being moved north to assist in the coming battle for Saigon. This action was part of the North Vietnamese general offensive launched in late January 1975, just two years after the cease-fire had been established by the Paris Peace Accords. The initial objective of this campaign was the capture of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. The battle began on March 4 with the North Vietnamese quickly encircling the city. As it became clear that the communists would take the city and probably the entire Darlac province, South Vietnamese president Thieu decided to protect the more critical populous areas. He ordered his forces in the Central Highlands to pull back from their positions. Abandoning Pleiku and Kontum, the South Vietnamese forces began to move toward the sea, but what started out as an orderly withdrawal soon turned into panic. The South Vietnamese forces rapidly fell apart. The North Vietnamese pressed the attack and were quickly successful in both the Central Highlands and farther north at Quang Tri, Hue and Da Nang. The South Vietnamese soon collapsed as a cogent fighting force and the North Vietnamese continued the attack all the way to Saigon. The South Vietnamese surrendered unconditionally on April 30.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
There were 83 Medals awarded this date for actions in the Civil War and the Indian wars in the West. Here are a few of them.
SWAN, CHARLES A.
Rank and organization: Private, Company K, 4th lowa Cavalry. Place and date. At Selma, Ala., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Mt. Pleasant, lowa. Born: 29 May 1838, Green County, Pa. Date of issue: 17 June 1865. Citation: Capture of flag (supposed to be 11th Mississippi, C.S.A., and bearer.
THOMPSON, FREEMAN C.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company F, 116th Ohio Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Monroe County, Ohio. Date of issue: 12 May 1865. Citation: Was twice knocked from the parapet of Fort Gregg by blows from the enemy muskets but at the third attempt fought his way into the works.
TRACY, CHARLES H.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company A, 37th Massachusetts Infantry. Place and date: At Spotsylvania, Va., 12 May 1864; At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Springfield, Mass. Birth: Jewett City, Conn. Date of issue: 19 November 1897. Citation: At the risk of his own life, at Spotsylvania, 12 May 1864, assisted in carrying to a place of safety a wounded and helpless officer. On 2 April 1865, advanced with the pioneers, and, under heavy fire, assisted in removing 2 lines of chevaux_de_frise; was twice wounded but advanced to the third line, where he was again severely wounded, losing a leg.
TUCKER, ALLEN
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company F, 10th Connecticut Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Sprague, Conn. Birth: Lyme, Conn. Date of issue: 12 May 1865. Citation: Gallantry as color bearer in the assault on Fort Gregg.
VAN MATRE, JOSEPH
Rank and organization: Private, Company G, 116th Ohio Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Mason County, W. Va. Date of issue: 12 May 1865. Citation: In the assault on Fort Gregg, this soldier climbed upon the parapet and fired down into the fort as fast as the loaded guns could be passed up to him by comrades
WELCH, RICHARD
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company E, 37th Massachusetts Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Williamstown, Mass. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 10 May 1865. Citation: Capture of flag.
WHITE, ADAM
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company G, 11th West Virginia Infantry. Place and date: At Hatchers Run, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Parkersburg, W. Va. Birth: Switzerland. Date of issue: 13 June 1865. Citation: Capture of flag.
WILSON, FRANCIS A.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company B, 95th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Philadelphia Pa. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 25 June 1880. Citation: Was among the first to penetrate the enemy's lines and himself captured a gun of the 2 batteries captured.
DEARY, GEORGE
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company L, 5th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Apache Creek, Ariz., 2 April 1874. Entered service at:——. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 12 April 1875. Citation: Gallantry in action.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for April 2, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
2 April
1915: President Wilson appointed the first members to the NACA.
1916: Lt Richard C. Saufley (USN), flying a Curtiss Hydroairplane at Pensacola, bettered his own American altitude record with a mark of 16,072 feet. (24)
1931: First contract for a Navy fighter with retractable landing gear, the FF-1 biplane, made with Grumman. (24)
1942: Maj Gen Lewis H. Brereton led three heavy bombers in the first Tenth Air Force combat mission to attack ships near Port Blair, Andaman Islands, in the Bay of Bengal. (24)
1944: The XX Bomber Command's first B-29 landed in India. 1954: To 6 April, the 59 ARS and its H-19 helicopters helped refugees in Iraq's flooded Tigris River Valley. In 66 sorties, the H-19s dropped 30,000 pounds of food to 4,000 victims. (2)
1959: Out of 110 candidates, NASA selected Air Force Capts L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton; Navy Lt Cmdrs Walter M. Shirra, Jr., and Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Lt M. Scott Carpenter; and Marine Lt Col John H. Glenn, Jr., as the Project Mercury Astronauts. (20)
1963: Explorer XVII, NASA's stainless steel satellite, entered an almost perfect orbit after being launched aboard a Delta Rocket. It reported data tripling all previous direct measurement of neutral gases in the upper atmosphere.
1966: SAC inactivated the 576 SMS (ICBM Atlas), its last Atlas unit. (1) (6)
1976: The last C-118A Liftmaster in the active inventory went to Davis Monthan for storage. (16) (26)
1990: In the McDonnell Douglas NF-15B Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) Maneuvering Technology Demonstrator, Maj Erwin "Bud" Jenschke demonstrated in-flight thrust reversing for the first time over Edwards AFB. (20)
1997: A C-141 assigned to the 459 AW (AFRES) at Andrews AFB left Scott AFB for Sucre, Bolivia, with enough donated medical equipment to set up two surgical rooms. The Diocese of Joliet Peace and Justice at Romeoville, Ill., donated the cargo. (22)
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