To All,
Good Saturday Morning April 15 2023
I hope that you all have a great weekend and I can get the dates correct from now on.
Regards,
Skip
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History April 15 Today in Naval History April 15
1912
The scout cruisers USS Chester and USS Salem sail from Massachusetts to assist RMS Titanic survivors, and escort RMS Carpathia, which carried the survivors of the Titanic, to New York.
1918
The First Marine Aviation Force, under the command of Capt. Alfred A. Cunningham, USMC, is formed at Marine Flying Field, Miami, Fla.
1945
USS Frost (DE 144) and USS Stanton (DE 247) join to attack German submarine U 880 north-northwest of the Azores, which sinks at 01:14.
1961
The first nuclear-powered frigate, USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25), is launched at Quincy, Mass.
1962
USS Princeton (LPH 5) brings the first advisory unit to Vietnam and the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 362 SocTrang, Mekong Delta, South Vietnam.
1986
Operation El Dorado Canyon. Aircraft of USS America (CV 66) & USS Coral Sea (CV 43) attack Libya.
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April 15
This day in World History
1755 English lexicographer Dr. Samuel Johnson publishes his Dictionary of the English Language.
1784 The first balloon is flown in Ireland.
1813 U.S. troops under James Wilkinson lay siege to the Spanish-held city of Mobile in future state of Alabama.
1858 At the Battle of Azimghur, the Mexicans defeat Spanish loyalists.
1861 President Lincoln mobilizes Federal army.
1865 Abraham Lincoln dies from John Wilkes Booth's assassination bullet.
1871 'Wild Bill' Hickok becomes the marshal of Abilene, Kansas.
1912 With her band playing on the deck, the ocean liner Titanic sinks at 2:27 a.m. in the North Atlantic.
1917 British forces defeat the Germans at the Battle of Arras.
1923 The first sound films shown to a paying audience are exhibited at the Rialto Theater in New York City.
1923 Insulin becomes generally available for people suffering with diabetes.
1940 French and British troops land at Narvik, Norway.
1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt is buried on the grounds of his Hyde Park home.
1948 Arab forces are defeated in battle with Israeli forces.
1952 President Harry Truman signs the official Japanese peace treaty.
1955 Ray Kroc starts the McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants.
1959 Cuban leader Fidel Castro begins a U.S. goodwill tour.
1960 The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizes at Shaw University.
1971 North Vietnamese troops ambush a company of Delta Raiders from the 101st Airborne Division near Fire Support Base Bastogne in Vietnam. The American troops are on a rescue mission.
1986 U.S. warplanes attack Libya.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear … Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post
Skip… For The List for Saturday, 15 April 2023… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965–1968)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 15 April 1968… A great historian publishes his tribute to the Marines of Khe Sanh… Gang way, foot soldiers…
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip
Vietnam Air Losses
Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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This Day in History
The Boston Marathon bombing
2013: Three people killed, hundreds injured in Boston Marathon bombing
On April 15, 2013, two bombs go off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three spectators and wounding more than 260 other people in attendance. Four days later, after an intense manhunt that shut down the Boston area, police captured one of the bombing suspects, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; his older brother and fellow suspect, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died following a shootout with law enforcement earlier that same day.
The 117th Boston Marathon began in the morning from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, with some 23,000 participants. At around 2:49 that afternoon, with more than 5,700 runners still in the race, two pressure cooker bombs hidden in backpacks exploded within seconds of each other near the finish line along Boylston Street. Three people died: a 23-year-old woman, a 29-year-old woman and an 8-year-old boy. Among the scores of others who were injured, more than a dozen people required amputations.
On the evening of April 18, the FBI released photos of two male suspects sought in connection with the bombings. That night at around 10:30, Sean Collier, a 26-year-old police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was shot dead in his patrol car on the school's Cambridge campus. Authorities would eventually link the murder to the Tsarnaev brothers, who spent parts of their childhoods in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan but had lived in the United States for about a decade prior to the bombings. Soon after Officer Collier was killed, Tamerlan Tsarnaev carjacked an SUV, taking the driver hostage and telling him he was one of the Boston Marathon bombers.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev followed behind in a smaller car before joining his older brother and the hostage in the SUV. The brothers drove around the Boston area with their hostage, forcing him to withdraw money from an ATM and discussing driving to New York City. When they stopped at a Cambridge gas station, the hostage escaped and called police, informing them the SUV could be tracked by his cellphone, which was still in the vehicle. Shortly after midnight, a gun battle broke out between the Tsarnaevs and police on a street in the Boston suburb of Watertown. One officer was seriously injured by gunfire but survived. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, also seriously wounded, was taken to a hospital, where doctors tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate him. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev managed to drive away from the shootout in the stolen SUV before abandoning it nearby and fleeing on foot.
That day, April 19, the Boston area was on lockdown, with schools closed, public transportation service suspended and people advised to stay inside their homes, as police conducted door-to-door searches in Watertown and military-style vehicles patrolled the streets. That evening, after police called off their search of the area, a Watertown man went outside to check on a boat he was storing in his backyard. When he looked inside the 24-foot vessel, he was startled to see blood and a person, who turned out to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, hiding there. Police soon arrived and took the suspect, who was wounded from the earlier gun battle, into custody.
At the time of the bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, while Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a community college dropout and former amateur boxer with a wife and child. Investigators believe the Tsarnaevs were motivated by extremist Islamic beliefs but planned and carried out the bombings on their own and were not connected to any terrorist organizations. The brothers allegedly used the Internet to learn how to build explosives.
In July 2013, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to the 30 federal charges against him, including the use of a weapon of mass destruction. He went on trial in January 2015, and was found guilty on all 30 counts. He was sentenced to death but appealed the decision. Tsarnaev is currently being held at a supermax prison in Colorado.
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Smokey Bear has his own ZIP code.
During his 77 years in the spotlight, the wildfire prevention mascot has kindled lots of goodwill. So much, in fact, that in 1964, the U.S. Postal Service created a unique ZIP code for Smokey Bear's mail. Not bad for a mascot that started out as a purely fictional character. In 1944, working on a commission from the War Advertising Council and the U.S. Forest Service, Saturday Evening Post artist Albert Staehle and writer Harold Rosenberg crafted the reassuring, safety-conscious black bear, now the face of the country's longest-running public service campaign, where he frequently shares his famous slogan: "Only you can prevent wildfires."
In 1950, a five-pound black bear cub rescued from a New Mexico wildfire by Taos Pueblo firefighters was christened "Smokey Bear" as a living homage to the popular protective figure. This bear spent the rest of his life at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. There, he, his successor — Smokey II — and their alter ego received up to 13,000 letters, drawings, Christmas cards, and honey shipments each week. To help sort these deliveries, the bears were given their own Washington, D.C. ZIP code: 20252. Some of the mail was undoubtedly postmarked with Smokey Bear stamps, which were printed with the likenesses of the first two bears and released on the 40th anniversary of the character's debut. From around 2007 to 2014, the ZIP code was decommissioned, but it was revived for the mascot's 70th anniversary. The original bear also has his own Instagram and Twitter accounts, where he shares fire prevention tips with the hashtag #OnlyYou — now a more vital message than ever.
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Thanks to Carl
Lyndon Johnson's Role in the Kennedy Assassination
The Future of Freedom Foundation
April 14, 2023
The New York Times has published an article today entitled "Lyndon Johnson Was No Friend of Martin Luther King Jr." which describes how Johnson worked closely with former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to destroy King. While there is a common perception today that Hoover was acting alone in his efforts to destroy King, whom Hoover was convinced was part of the supposed communist conspiracy to take over the United States and the rest of the world, the article shows that Hoover was supported in his efforts by a vast segment of the federal government, including President Johnson.
How, then, do we reconcile Johnson's purported support of the civil-rights movement, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964? The answer is that Johnson wanted to do anything and everything to distract people's attention away from the role he played in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and cause people to look at Johnson as a great ally and supporter of President Kennedy's pro-civil-rights legacy.
How do we know that Johnson was complicit in the regime-change operation that took place on November 22, 1963? We know it by his words and his actions on that fateful day.
In honor of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, The Future of Freedom Foundation is launching a new video series that I am hosting entitled "The JFK Assassination—60 Years Later." FFF is today publishing the introductory episode in this series — Episode 1.
In Episode 2, I will be detailing the role that was assigned to LBJ on the day of the assassination. LBJ's own words and deeds on that day convict him of having participated in the assassination.
First of all though, keep in mind that for Johnson, the stakes in November 1963 were extremely high. At that time, he knew that a noose was tightening around his neck arising from investigations for official corruption in which he had been embroiled. (See here under "Don B. Reynolds and Bobby Baker.") There is reason to believe that President Kennedy's brother, Bobby Kennedy, who was the U.S. Attorney General, was secretly involved with tightening that noose, with the aim of having Johnson removed from office and, therefore, as JFK's vice-presidential candidate in the upcoming 1964 election. It is no secret that Bobby Kennedy loathed Johnson and that the feeling was mutual.
Johnson knew that his only way out of the noose was by removal of President Kennedy from office, which would thereby elevate Johnson to the presidency, which, he was convinced, would immunize him from criminal prosecution for official corruption. He turned out to be right. In the crisis-filled environment following the assassination, no one displayed any appetite for going after the new president and criminally prosecuting him for official corruption. LBJ's politically astute embrace of the civil-rights movement, along with other features of JFK's agenda, such as Medicare and Medicaid, solidified the "let's leave LBJ alone" mentality.
While Johnson was waiting inside Parkland Hospital to see whether Kennedy would die, LBJ expressed his concern that the assassination could be the first step in a surprise Soviet nuclear attack on the United States. Keep that thought in mind because as I will show in later episodes of my new series, it is an extremely important one in understanding the overall strategy of the regime-change operation and the role that was assigned to Johnson in covering it up.
After Kennedy was declared dead at 1 p.m., Johnson headed to Dallas Love Field, where both Air Force One and Air Force Two were parked. On the way to the airport, Johnson once again expressed his concern that the assassination could be the first stage in a first-strike surprise nuclear attack by the Soviets on the United States. He even scrunched down in seat of the car, expressing concern for the possibility that the Soviets might be planning an ambush of his vehicle as a prelude to launching an all-out nuclear attack on the United States.
In both a theoretical and a practical sense, Johnson's concern was valid. After all, the Cuban Missile Crisis, which involved the installation of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba and the prospect of all-out nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union, had taken place just a year before. As unlikely as it might seem, a nuclear attack certainly was not beyond the realm of reasonable possibility. At the very least, Johnson himself appeared to consider it to be a very real possibility, as reflected by the concern he expressed twice.
However, once he got to the airport, his actions belied his words. He issued an order to have seats removed from the back of Air Force One to make room for Kennedy's casket. Yet, as a native Texan, he had to know that under Texas law, the Dallas County medical examiner was required to conduct an autopsy, which would ordinarily take about 2-3 hours.
Over at Parkland Hospital, however, a team of Secret Service agents headed by a man named Roy Kellerman, went into action immediately after Kennedy was declared dead. Armed with a Thompson submachine gun, Kellerman announced that he was operating under orders to prevent an autopsy and take JFK's body back to Washington. When Dr. Earl Rose, the Dallas County medical examiner, stood his ground and pointed out that state criminal law required the autopsy, a Secret Service agent physically picked him up, moved him to a nearby wall, and wagged his finger in his face. The other Secret Service agents pulled back their coat pockets and brandished their guns. Amidst screaming, yelling, and the use of profanities, the Secret Service team forced its way out of Parkland with President Kennedy's body and headed to Dallas Love Field.
There was only one person who could have issued that order to that team of Secret Service agents. That person was Lyndon Johnson. That was why he ordered the removal of seats from Air Force One when he arrived at Dallas Love Field. He knew that Kellerman's team would soon be arriving with the body.
After arriving at Love Field, Johnson did something unusual. He ordered personnel to transfer the luggage from Air Force Two, which had been his plane as vice-president, to Air Force One, which he was now going to use. That decision made no sense because the two planes were headed to the same place.
Johnson also decided that he needed to be sworn in as president, this despite the fact that Bobby Kennedy, the U.S. Attorney General, had told him that no such swearing in was necessary. That's because under the Constitution, Johnson immediately became president when Kennedy expired. Nonetheless, Johnson took the time to seek out a federal judge to come to Dallas Love Field to swear him in.
After being sworn in, Air Force One took off from Dallas Love Field at 2:47 p.m., which was 1 hour and 47 minutes after President Kennedy had been declared dead.
Why is that important? Because it shows that LBJ was lying through his teeth when he twice expressed concern over whether the assassination could be the first step in a nuclear attack on the United States.
If Johnson had even a one percent concern over that possibility, he would have gotten into the air immediately to manage America's defense to such an attack. After all, the Soviets would have known that Johnson was in Dallas. If the assassination was the first stage in a nuclear attack by the Soviets, there is no doubt that nuclear missiles would shortly be raining down on Dallas, with the aim of decapitating America's governmental leadership. The only chance there was to avoid that possibility was for Johnson to head to Love Field, immediately get into the air, and direct America's defense.
Yet, that's not what he did. Instead, he lollygagged at the airport for around an hour and half. In doing that, his actions spoke much louder than his words. His actions demonstrated that he had no concern whatsoever about the possibility that the assassination was the first stage in a Soviet nuclear attack on the United States. The only way he could be so certain was if he knew who, in fact, had orchestrated the attack.
At around 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Air Force One arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where Johnson performed another critically important task that had been assigned to him. He delivered Kennedy's body into the hands of the military establishment for the purpose of carrying out an autopsy. As I will show in future episodes of my new series, that autopsy, much of which was kept secret for decades, turned out to be fraudulent.
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Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
Daily Memo: Russia's Pacific Fleet on High Alert
Also, China's defense minister will visit Moscow next week.
By: GPF Staff
April 14, 2023
Snap drills. Russia's entire Pacific Fleet was put on high alert on Friday for snap drills in the Far East region. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the exercises were necessary "to work out methods of action to prevent the deployment of enemy forces in the operationally important region of the Pacific Ocean." Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov called the surprise check a "usual practice." Meanwhile, China announced that its defense minister will visit Russia from April 16-18 for talks with Shoigu. The growing collaboration between the two countries is causing concern in the West, especially after the Chinese military announced last month its readiness to cooperate with Russia.
Oil markets. The International Energy Agency expects global oil demand to reach a record 101.9 million barrels per day by the end of 2023. Some 90 percent of the growth is expected to come from countries outside of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, particularly from China. Spikes in demand are already being felt in some places. Russia's oil exports by volume rose in March to their highest level since April 2020. OPEC+ production cuts, however, have pushed prices up, including for Russian oil, which has been sold at a discount to buyers like India. Indian banks reportedly fear that prices could rise above the ceiling of $60 per barrel set by G-7 countries and the European Union.
China and Brazil. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met on Friday with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing. Lula said his government wants to deepen Brazil's relations with China, adding that "no one will prohibit" their rapprochement. For his part, Xi said good relations with Brasilia are a diplomatic priority for Beijing. Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in China's northern city of Tianjin on Thursday. She warned against a military escalation in the Taiwan Strait, saying that the EU could not be indifferent to a conflict there.
Insurgencies in West Africa. The Malian government is reportedly losing control over areas of the country's northeast to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, including the key town of Tidermene, which was captured this week. Relatedly, Berlin plans to withdraw its peacekeeping forces from Mali to refocus its efforts on Niger. (Germany's defense and development ministers visited both countries this week.) Neighboring Burkina Faso announced "general mobilization" on Thursday in a bid to combat a growing insurgency. The head of the military junta said he hopes to recapture 40 percent of the country's territory.
Cooperation. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country will work more closely with Egypt on the issues of Libya and Syria during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry. Shoukry said the two countries had reached a consensus on the need for a "stable and unified Libya" and removing "foreign influences" from the country.
Engaging the Caucasus. The U.S. State Department's chief adviser on South Caucasus negotiations traveled to Armenia to meet with the secretary of the Armenian Security Council. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's deputy defense minister visited the U.S. National Defense University, where he discussed prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan and the U.S. in the field of military education.
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Thanks to Carl
Here Are All the Brands Owned by Bud Light's Parent Company Anheuser-Busch
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Thanks to Brett
SNAPSHOTS
The Revamped U.S.-Philippine Alliance Starts to Come to Fruition
Apr 14, 2023
(MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The reinvigorated U.S.-Philippines defense alliance will improve the United States' ability to counter China's military maneuvers in nearby waters, but will also exacerbate already rising regional tensions. Following their so-called ''2+2'' meeting in Washington, top foreign policy and defense officials from the United States and the Philippines issued a joint statement on April 11 in which they committed to completing a 10-year roadmap for delivering U.S. military equipment to the Southeast Asian nation, including ''priority defense platforms'' like drones, military transport aircraft and coastal and air defense systems. That same day, the United States and the Philippines also launched their largest and most technologically sophisticated joint military exercises, which are taking place in and around northern Luzon and Palawan, among other places, and will run through April 28. China strongly condemned the developments, with its foreign ministry spokesperson warning that the United States ''must not interfere in South China Sea disputes, still less harm China's territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests and security interests.''
- The United States and the Philippines have conducted their annual Balikatan (''shoulder-to-shoulder'') military drills for decades. A record 17,600 soldiers are taking part in this year's exercise, which also includes live-fire elements at sea for the first time and a small contingent of Australian military personnel. Prior iterations of the drill focused on counterterrorism, but the reorientation toward preparing to confront China requires far larger contingents from both armed forces.
The meetings and drills come amid growing Chinese threats near Taiwan and in the South China Sea. The U.S.-Philippine military drills were launched a day after China finished its own military exercises near Taiwan. Since January, Chinese and Philippine maritime forces have also had several dangerous encounters in the South China Sea, where the two countries have conflicting maritime claims. Recent South China Sea code of conduct negotiations failed to make progress, meaning more confrontations in the disputed waterway are likely, which will further raise the stakes — especially given the U.S. Navy's increased presence in Philippine waters.
- Between April 8-10, China conducted limited military activities around Taiwan, including a Taiwan Strait patrol and a naval voyage east of the island, in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's April 5 meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California. China also conducted live-fire drills near Taiwan following Tsai's August 2022 meeting with McCarthy's predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, in Taipei.
- On Feb. 6, a Chinese coast guard ship shined a military-grade laser at a Philippine coast guard ship near the Spratly Islands' Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, causing Philippine sailors' temporary blindness. On March 5, the Philippine coast guard also reported more than 40 Chinese vessels within 12 nautical islands of the Spratly Islands' Thitu island, and the vessels stayed in the area for several days.
The developments also reflect the United States and the Philippines' reinvigorated defense alliance following the recent revival of their Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), driven by the countries' growing concerns about China. In November, Philippine President Macros revived the EDCA, which his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte stalled during his 2016-2022 term. Signed in 2014, the EDCA allows the United States to constantly rotate troops in the Philippines, use Philippine bases for prolonged stays, and build and operate facilities in-country with its own personnel. In February, Washington and Manila then agreed to increase the number of U.S.-operated military sites in the Philippines under the EDCA from five to nine. On April 3, Manila announced that three of those new sites will be located in northern Luzon, within 250 miles (402 kilometers) of Taiwan, while the fourth will be located on Balabac island, which is just 160 miles (257 kilometers) southeast of Mischief Reef — a site of persistent territorial dispute between Manila and Beijing. This optimized strategic positioning of the four new EDCA sites highlights the United States and the Philippines' shared desire to oppose Chinese encroachment around Taiwan and in the South China Sea, as Beijing more assertively presses its territorial claims to both.
- The joint statement issued after the recent 2+2 meeting indicates the United States will also increase annual spending at its nine EDCA sites to more than $100 million by the end of 2023, up from the current $80 million.
- While both countries insist the EDCA is not a permanent basing agreement, the ongoing rotation of U.S. personnel and equipment in the Philippines under the deal nonetheless effectively enables the United States to maintain a constant military presence in the country.
- The Philippines and the United States have not held a meeting in the ''2+2'' format since 2016 — underscoring the two countries' renewed military relationship under Philippine President Macros, who took office in June 2022.
The revitalized alliance will bolster Washington's regional security architecture and Manila's capacity to defend its maritime claims. The new EDCA bases' locations unambiguously target China's core interests to secure two of its major territorial claims: over most of the South China Sea and over the island of Taiwan. For the United States, the new bases will improve its maritime monitoring and response capabilities in the event an armed conflict with China breaks out in the region. Such enhanced U.S. monitoring capabilities will be most immediately impactful in the strategically important Bashi Channel (a crucial waterway between the Philippines and Taiwan) and the Balabac Strait (another crucial waterway that could connect China to the Sulu Sea during a potential war). A larger U.S. military presence in the Philippines will also improve both countries' capacity to jointly patrol disputed waters in the South China Sea, where dangerous incidents with Chinese maritime forces are occurring with increasing frequency.
But it will also expose the Philippines to Chinese strikes in the event of an armed conflict over either Taiwan or the South China Sea. On April 10, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured China that he will not allow the EDCA sites to be used for ''offensive action.'' But in a regional war scenario, the EDCA bases could nonetheless become legitimate military targets as Beijing would want to disrupt or destroy U.S. rapid response capabilities. For now, China will try to avoid seriously escalating tensions with the Philippines for fear of pushing it even deeper into the United States' orbit. However, Manila's efforts to deepen its defense ties with Washington will still risk placing it more frequently in China's crosshairs, increasing the risk of clashes and confrontations in disputed waters.
- On April 11, Beijing issued a veiled threat to Manila, stating ''We remind the relevant countries in the region that relying on extraterritorial forces will not only fail to maintain their own security, but will instead increase tension and will certainly harm themselves.''
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This Day in U S Military History…….April 15
1865 – President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, dies from an assassin's bullet. Shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington the night before, Lincoln lived for nine hours before succumbing to the severe head wound he sustained. Lincoln's death came just after the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Lincoln had just served the most difficult presidency in history, successfully leading the country through civil war. His job was exhausting and overwhelming at times. He had to manage a tremendous military effort, deal with diverse opinions in his own Republican party, counter his Democratic critics, maintain morale on the northern home front, and keep foreign countries such as France and Great Britain from recognizing the Confederacy. He did all of this, and changed American history when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, converting the war goal from reunion of the nation to a crusade to end slavery. Now, the great man was dead. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton said, "Now, he belongs to the ages." Word spread quickly across the nation, stunning a people who were still celebrating the Union victory. Troops in the field wept, as did General Ulysses S. Grant, the overall Union commander. Perhaps no group was more grief stricken than the freed slaves. Although abolitionists considered Lincoln slow in moving against slavery, many freedmen saw "Father Abraham" as their savior. They faced an uncertain world, and now had lost their most powerful proponent. Lincoln's funeral was held on April 19, before a funeral train carried his body back to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois. During the two-week journey, hundreds of thousands gathered along the railroad tracks to pay their respects, and the casket was unloaded for public viewing at several stops. He and his son, Willie, who died in the White House of typhoid fever in 1862, were interred on May 4.
1945 – On Okinawa, the US 6th Marine Division assaults Yae Hill but is driven back by the Japanese defense.
1945 – Units of the US 9th Army, which have crossed the Elbe River near Magdeburg, are forced to retreat. The US 1st Army takes Leuna. Meanwhile, Operation Venerable is launched against the German garrison in the fortress of Royan, at the mouth of the Gironde River; heavy napalm bomb attacks by the US 8th Air Force and shelling by the Free French battleship Lorraine are followed by an attack by Free French and American forces.
1952 – The 1st B-52 prototype test flight was made. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since the 1950s. The bomber is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of weapons. Beginning with the successful contract bid in June 1946, the B-52 design evolved from a straight-wing aircraft powered by six turboprop engines to the final prototype YB-52 with eight turbojet engines and swept wings. Built to carry nuclear weapons for Cold War-era deterrence missions, the B-52 Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36. A veteran of several wars, the B-52 has dropped only conventional munitions in combat. The B-52's official name Stratofortress is rarely used in informal circumstances, and it has become common to refer to the aircraft as the BUFF (Big Ugly Fat Fucker). The B-52 has been in active service with the USAF since 1955. As of 2012, 85 were in active service with nine in reserve. The bombers flew under the Strategic Air Command (SAC) until it was inactivated in 1992 and its aircraft absorbed into the Air Combat Command (ACC); in 2010 all B-52 Stratofortresses were transferred from the ACC to the new Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). Superior performance at high subsonic speeds and relatively low operating costs have kept the B-52 in service despite the advent of later, more advanced aircraft, including the canceled Mach 3 B-70 Valkyrie, the variable-geometry B-1 Lancer, and the stealth B-2 Spirit. The B-52 completed fifty years of continuous service with its original operator in 2005; after being upgraded between 2013 and 2015, it is expected to serve into the 2040s
1969 – North Korea shoots down a United States Navy EC-121 aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 on board. The 1969 EC-121 shootdown incident occurred on April 15, 1969 when a United States Navy Lockheed EC-121M Warning Star on a reconnaissance mission was shot down by North Korean MiG-17 aircraft over the Sea of Japan. The plane crashed 90 nautical miles (167 km) off the North Korean coast and all 31 Americans on board were killed. The Nixon administration chose not to retaliate against North Korea apart from staging a naval demonstration in the Sea of Japan a few days later. Instead it resumed the reconnaissance flights within a week to demonstrate that it would not be intimidated by the action while at the same time avoiding a confrontation.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*GONSALVES, HAROLD
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 28 January 1926, Alameda, Calif. Accredited to: California. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Acting Scout Sergeant with the 4th Battalion, 15th Marines, 6th Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Chain, 15 April 1945. Undaunted by the powerfully organized opposition encountered on Motobu Peninsula during the fierce assault waged by his battalion against the Japanese stronghold at Mount Yaetake, Pfc. Gonsalves repeatedly braved the terrific enemy bombardment to aid his forward observation team in directing well-placed artillery fire. When his commanding officer determined to move into the front lines in order to register a more effective bombardment in the enemy's defensive position, he unhesitatingly advanced uphill with the officer and another Marine despite a slashing barrage of enemy mortar and rifle fire. As they reached the front and a Japanese grenade fell close within the group, instantly Pfc. Gonsalves dived on the deadly missile, absorbing the exploding charge in his own body and thereby protecting the others from serious and perhaps fatal wounds. Stouthearted and indomitable, Pfc. Gonsalves readily yielded his own chances of survival that his fellow marines might carry on the relentless battle against a fanatic enemy and his cool decision, prompt action and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of certain death reflect the highest credit upon himself and upon the U.S. Naval Service.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for April 15, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
15 April
1912: The Signal Corps ordered its first tractor airplane from the Burgess Company and (Greeley) Curtiss. This airplane was also the first Signal Corps plane to have a cockpit. (24)
1916: De Lloyd Thompson flew his Day Biplane to launch a mock air raid on Washington DC to show his concern about Zeppelin raids on European cities. Cars and pedestrians below crowded on the streets to watch firework bombs explode in the night sky. (7)
1928: Through 21 April, British explorer George H. Wilkins and Lt Carl B. Eielson made the first eastward Arctic crossing in a ski-equipped Lockheed Vega monoplane. They flew 2,200 miles from Point Barrow to Green Harbor, Spitzbergen, in 20 hours 20 minutes. A storm enroute forced them to spend five days on the ground. (9) (24)
1941: Igor Sikorsky flew a Vought-Sikorsky in the first officially recorded rotor helicopter flight in the western hemisphere. He flew for 1 hour 5 minutes 14.5 seconds at Stratford. (24)
1943: A 4 FG P-47 Thunderbolt shot down an enemy aircraft. It was the P-47's first kill over Europe.
1945: The XP-82 Twin Mustang first flew.
1946: The US AAF changed an aircraft crew training facility at Muroc Field into a jet and rocket airplane research center. (3)
1952: Boeing pilot A. M. "Tex" Johnston flew the YB-52 prototype for the first time at Seattle. (12)
1957: The Air Force activated the 1st Missile Division at Los Angeles to plan and prepare for future operational missile units. It was assigned to the ARDC. (24)
1959: Flying a RF-101 Voodoo on a closed-circuit course at Edwards AFB, Capt George A. Edwards, Jr., set a new speed record of 816.279 MPH. (20) (24)
1960: The USAF launched the Discoverer XI into polar orbit from the Pacific Missile Range.
1965: NASA test-fired a 3,500-pound thrust engine designed to lift an Apollo Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) off the moon at White Sands Missile Range. The USAF shipped the last Titan I from the 725 SMS at Lowry AFB to storage facilities. (6)
1968: SAC opened a Replacement Training Unit at Castle AFB to cross-train B-52F through B-52H aircrews in B-52D conventional bombing operations. (1)
1969: North Korean MiGs shot down a US Navy EC-121 reconnaissance aircraft with 31 crewmen during its routine mission some 100 miles off the North Korean coast. Within seven minutes, Osan-based F-106s were in the air on combat air patrol, and in 30 minutes the USAF launched an HC-130 search aircraft from Tachikawa. On 20 April, the USAF ended the search and rescue effort, finding no survivors. Soviet naval forces aided the search operation. (17)
1972: The last F-100 Super Sabre left USAFE. (16)
1974: From 15 April to 9 May, the Air Force conducted a fly off between the Fairchild A-10 and the LTV A-7D Corsair at McConnell AFB. The A-10 won. (12)
1979: An earthquake struck Yugoslavia, leaving more than 230 people dead, 350 injured, and 80,000 homeless. MAC airlifted 139 tons of supplies and equipment in 7 C-141s and 4 C-130 missions from Howard AFB; McGuire AFB and Camp Darby, Italy, to Titograd IAP, Yugoslavia. (2)
1996: Interservice undergraduate navigator training became full joint as Air Force student navigators and student naval flight officers combined at Randolph AFB into a single class with a single syllabus. Later in the month, Air Force and Navy electronic warfare officer training combined at NAS Pensacola and the Naval Technical Training Center at Corry Field, Fla. (26)
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