To All,
Good Monday Morning April 24 2023
I hope that you all had a great weekend.
Regards,
Skip
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History April 24
1778
During the American Revolution, the Continental Navy sloop-of-war Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones, captures the British sloop HMS Drake after an hours battle off Carrickfergus, Ireland.
1805
During the First Barbary War, the frigate Congress, commanded by John Rodgers, captures a Tripolitan gunboat, along with two prizes taken earlier by pirate ships off Tripoli.
1884
USS Bear leaves New York Naval Shipyard on its way to the Arctic as part of the Greely Relief Expedition. USS Thetis and USS Alert join USS Bear on the mission. On June 22, the relief ships rescue the remaining seven members of the 27-man Greely Expedition at Cape Sabine.
1906
Reburial Commemoration Ceremony for Capt. John Paul Jones is held at the Naval Academy. At the ceremony, President Theodore Roosevelt delivers a speech in honor of the legendary Revolutionary War naval captain.
1945
USS Frederick C. Davis (DE 136) is sunk by German submarine U 546, 570 miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland. In a combined effort, USS Pillsbury (DE 133), USS Flaherty (DE 135), USS Chatelain (DE 19), USS Neunzer (DE 150), USS Hubbard (DE 211), USS Keith (DE 241), USS Janssen (DE 396) and USS Varian (DE 798) sink U 546.
1981
USS San Francisco (SSN 711) is commissioned at Norfolk Naval Station, Va.
1999
USS Higgins (DDG 76) is commissioned at Port Everglades, Fla. A Flight I Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, she is named after Marine Col. William R. Higgins. He was part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon when he was captured in Feb. 1988 by a pro-Iranian group, held hostage and eventually killed in captivity by July 1990. USS Higgins home port is Naval Base San Diego.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
This day in World History
April 24
858 St. Nicholas I begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
1519 Envoys of Montezuma II attend the first Easter mass in Central America.
1547 Charles V's troops defeat the Protestant League of Schmalkalden at the Battle of Muhlberg.
1558 Mary, Queen of Scotland, marries the French dauphin, Francis.
1792 Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle composes "La Marseillaise". It will become France's national anthem.
1800 The Library of Congress is established in Washington, D.C. with a $5,000 allocation.
1805 U.S. Marines attack and capture the town of Derna in Tripoli from the Barbary pirates.
1833 A patent is granted for the first soda fountain.
1877 Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
1884 Otto von Bismarck cables Cape Town, South Africa that it is now a German colony.
1898 Spain declares war on United States, rejecting an ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba.
1915 Turks of the Ottoman Empire begin massacring the Armenian minority in their country.
1916 Irish nationalists launch the Easter Uprising against British occupation.
1944 The first B-29 arrives in China, over the Hump of the Himalayas.
1948 The Berlin airlift begins to relieve the surrounded city.
1953 Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
1961 President John Kennedy accepts "sole responsibility" for the failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.
1968 Leftist students take over Columbia University in protest over the Vietnam War.
1980 A rescue attempt of the U.S. hostages held in Iran fails when a plane collides with a helicopter in the Iranian desert.
1981 The IBM Personal Computer is introduced.
1989 Thousands of Chinese students strike in Beijing for more democratic reforms.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
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 Monday, 24 April 2023… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 24 April 1968… It is our sacred duty to remember…
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.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to Al
Monday Morning Humor--Earth Day Recap
Al Krause
6:01 AM (1 hour ago)
to bcc: me
Top Ten Earth Day Fun Facts and Trivia--Did You Know?
· More than half the earth is at least 3000 meters under the sea.
· "How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when clearly it is Ocean."—Arthur C. Clarke in 1990.
· Almost half the weight of the earth's crust is accounted for by oxygen.
· The Earth orbits the Sun at a speed of 66,700 mph.
· The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.
· The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply.
· The oceans of the world would rise about 60 meters if Antarctica's ice sheets melted.
· About 27 tons of dust rains down on the earth each day from space.
· Of all known forms of animals life ever to inhabit the Earth, only about 10% still exist today.
· Only 3% water of the earth is fresh, the remaining 97% is salted. Of that 3%; over 2% is frozen in ice sheets and glaciers. Meaning that less than 1% of fresh water is found in lakes, rivers and underground.
If trees sent Wi-Fi signals, people would plant more of them. Too bad they only produce this oxygen stuff.
"I'm vegan, by the way," says a vegan.
"Oh, probably out of your love for animals?" a friend replies.
"No, out of plant hatred, pure plant hatred!"
In honor of Earth day, I sent all of my work-related emails to my "recycle" folder.
California is looking to eradicate a once popular item… Apparently it was the last straw.
A climate scientist and a climate change denier walk into a bar. The denier says, nice to see you.
The climate scientist says, nice to CO2.
I'm thinking about starting a chewing gum recycling company… I just need a little help getting it off the ground.
If I ride my bike twice … does that count as RE-CYCLING?
My teacher wanted me to come up with a set of steps that we could use to save the environment …so I created an Al Gore-ithm.
A climate scientist and a climate change denier walk into a bar. The denier says, bartender, "Show me your strongest whiskey."
The bartender says, "This one here. It's 95 percent alcohol."
The denier slams down his fist and leaves the bar in a hurry.
The scientist says, "You know, that's the problem with these guys. You show them the proof, and they still don't buy it."
Imagine the key note speaker at the World Council on Global Warming saying, "I regret to report that there's no global warming threat after all. We just got Fahrenheit and Celsius mixed up."
Why are 'eco warriors' bad at playing cards?
They like to avoid the flush.
Tom Cruise is about to sign up to a new, high-tech, eco thriller: "Mission Compostable."
Son—"My teacher said that if you rode your bike 10 miles to work and 10 miles home, you would save a polar bear."
Dad—"How many miles does that total?"
Son—"1010"
"I have an obsession with wind farms."
"Really?"
"Yes, I'm a big fan."
All joking aside… what should you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?
That's it for my Earth Day recap, so I think I'll relax and listen to some music—Green Day and Earth, Wind, and Fire,
Al
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to the Bear
From: "Cox, Samuel J SES USN NHHC WASHINGTON DC (USA)" <samuel.j.cox4.civ@us.navy.mil>
Date: April 24, 2023 at 4:15:30 AM MDT
Subject: Passing of USS ARIZONA (BB-39) Survivor BM 1/C Ken Potts
Fellow Flag Officers,
And then there was one. It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Boatswain's Mate First Class Howard Kenton "Ken" Potts on 21 April 2023 at age 102. Ken was the oldest living survivor of the battleship USS ARIZONA, destroyed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. This leaves Lieutenant Commander Lou Conter, USN (Ret.) at age 101 as the only living survivor of ARIZONA.
Ken Potts enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 4 October 1939 at Saint Louis, Missouri. Following completion of basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Illinois, he reported to the battleship ARIZONA at San Pedro, California on 31 December 1939 and was aboard when the Battle Fleet deployed to Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii in May 1940. While assigned to ARIZONA he served as a Boatswain's Mate in Fifth Division, operating and maintaining the ship's boats, and also serving as a crane operator. He also served as a coxswain on a ship's boat ferrying men and material to and from the ship.
When the attack commenced, Ken was ashore, having spent the night in Honolulu. He and eight other men crammed into a cab and made it to the boat landing. He heard the explosion of his ship from a distance. He caught a boat taking men out to the ships with Battleship Row already aflame with burning oil, and Japanese planes still strafing. Aboard the boat, he helped pull numerous survivors from various ships out of the water. He arrived aboard the stern of ARIZONA after the catastrophic magazine explosion that sank the ship in the shallow harbor. After attempts to fight the raging fires were fruitless, he and other crewmen were ordered to abandon ship by the senior surviving officer, Lieutenant Commander Samuel Fuqua (who was awarded a Medal of Honor for his heroic action that day) making their way to nearby Ford Island on a boat with the many wounded men, while pulling other oil-coated survivors out of the water. Other survivors went hand-over-hand on lines to Ford Island while others swam. He returned to the ship later in the afternoon after the worst of the fires died down to search for survivors, but finding only bodies.
Following the attack, he was assigned to the Pearl Harbor Shipyard to assist with salvage operations. He subsequently had temporary duty aboard an oiler, refueling ships outside Pearl Harbor. He was then assigned to the Port Director's Office in Honolulu, providing port security, where he served for the duration of the war. He returned Stateside in September 1945 and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy as a Boatswain's Mate First Class in 1946.
Ken would later say, "My best day in the Navy is when I survived December 7th 1941; it was also my worst day." 1,177 of Ken's shipmates on ARIZONA died. Forty-Five of the survivors chose to be reinterred with their shipmates. Ken will not be one of them, as he said, "I got off the ship once. I'm not going back."
(There are contradictory accounts of exactly where Ken Potts was when the attack commenced. This is based primarily on a 2020 oral history with Ken in his own words. Although he gets some of the details of the attack wrong, his memory of where he was and what he did seemed quite clear.)
Flags will be flown at half-mast over the USS ARIZONA Memorial until 28 April in honor of Ken Potts.
Remember Pearl Harbor
Rest in Peace Ken.
Very respectfully,
Sam
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Special forces swiftly evacuate US embassy staff from Sudan
By Matthew Lee, AP, Tara Copp, AP and Aamer Madhani, AP
Apr 23, 06:47 AM
U.S. special operations forces carried out a precarious evacuation of the American embassy in warring Sudan on Sunday, sweeping in and out of the capital, Khartoum, with helicopters on the ground for less than an hour. No shots were fired and no major casualties were reported.
With the last U.S. employee of the embassy out, Washington shuttered the U.S. mission in Khartoum indefinitely. Left behind were thousands of private American citizens remaining in the east African country.
U.S. officials said it would be too dangerous to carry out a broader evacuation mission. Battles between two rival Sudanese commanders entered their ninth day Sunday, forcing continued closing of the main international airport and leaving roads out of the country in control of armed men. Fighting has killed more than 400 people.
In a statement thanking the troops, President Joe Biden said he was receiving regular reports from his team on efforts to assist remaining Americans in Sudan "to the extent possible."
He also called for the end to "unconscionable" violence there.
About 100 U.S. troops in three MH-47 helicopters carried out the operation. They airlifted all of roughly 70 remaining American employees from a landing zone at the embassy to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia. Ethiopia also provided overflight and refueling support, said Molly Phee, assistant secretary of state for African affairs.
Biden said Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia also assisted with the evacuation.
"I am proud of the extraordinary commitment of our Embassy staff, who performed their duties with courage and professionalism and embodied America's friendship and connection with the people of Sudan," Biden said in a statement. "I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety."
U.S. Africa Command and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley were in contact with both warring factions before and during the operation to ensure that U.S. forces would have safe passage to conduct the evacuation. However, John Bass, a U.S. undersecretary of state, denied claims by one faction, Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Security Forces, that it assisted in the U.S. evacuation.
"They cooperated to the extent that they did not fire on our service members in the course of the operation," Bass said.
Biden had ordered American troops to evacuate embassy personnel after receiving a recommendation from his national security team, with no end in sight to the fighting.
"This tragic violence in Sudan has already cost the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. It's unconscionable and it must stop," Biden said. "The belligerent parties must implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people of Sudan."
Sudan's fighting broke out April 15 between two commanders who just 18 months earlier jointly orchestrated a military coup to derail the nation's transition to democracy.
The ongoing power struggle now between the armed forces chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has millions of Sudanese cowering inside their homes, hiding from explosions, gunfire and looting.
The violence has included an unprovoked attack on an American diplomatic convoy and numerous incidents in which foreign diplomats and aid workers were killed, injured or assaulted.
An estimated 16,000 private U.S. citizens are registered with the embassy as being in Sudan. The figure is rough because not all Americans register with embassy or say when they depart.
The embassy issued an alert earlier Saturday cautioning that "due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, it is not currently safe to undertake a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of private U.S. citizens."
The U.S. evacuation planning for American employees of the embassy got underway in earnest on Monday after the embassy convoy was attacked in Khartoum. The Pentagon confirmed on Friday that U.S. troops were being moved to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti ahead of a possible evacuation.
Saudi Arabia announced the successful repatriation of some of its citizens on Saturday, sharing footage of Saudi nationals and other foreigners welcomed with chocolate and flowers as they stepped off an apparent evacuation ship at the Saudi port of Jeddah.
Embassy evacuations conducted by the U.S. military are relatively rare and usually take place only under extreme conditions.
When it orders an embassy to draw down staff or suspend operations, the State Department prefers to have its personnel leave on commercial transportation if that is an option.
When the embassy in Kyiv temporarily closed just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, staffers used commercial transport to leave.
However, in several other recent cases, notably in Afghanistan in 2021, conditions made commercial departures impossible or extremely hazardous. U.S. troops accompanied personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, in an overland convoy to Tunisia when they evacuated in 2014.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to Dr. Rich
Build a 737 in 3:30 … amazing!!
Thanks to Mark ...
BOEING 737
This was fun to watch
Boeing produces over FORTY B-737 airplanes a month! That's about one every 18 hours! How do they do it? A train arrives with the fuseage (main body section) in the morning. That starts a moving production line process that results in a completed plane, ready for flight testing, about 18 hours later.
This 3 1⁄2 minute video - (yes, the motions of the humans and robots who build the plane are speeded up) - that shows the entire process, is truly fascinating.
Pilots and engineers will especially enjoy it... but so will anyone who flies!
Really Amazing: A must watch for all aviation maintenance personnel - Boeing Assembly Line - YouTube
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
A SpaceX rocket exploded. Here's why the Space Force remains hopeful.
By Courtney Albon
Friday, Apr 21
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifted off from South Texas in an April 20 test mission. The flight lasted about four minutes before the launch vehicle exploded. (SpaceX)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle, the world's heaviest rocket, could be a game changer for the Space Force, even after its first attempt at a suborbital flight on April 20 ended in an explosion.
Despite the failure, service officials told C4ISRNET they're hopeful about the rocket's future and what the test flight means for the launch industry more broadly.
Col. Jim Horne, deputy director of operations for the Space Force's Assured Access to Space directorate said when innovators like SpaceX, which is owned by billionaire Elon Musk, attempt groundbreaking technological advances, even an unsuccessful test is a chance to learn.
"I think that's one of my favorite things that companies like them have done is teach us that we need to learn from our mistakes and not fear them," he said during an April 20 interview at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo. "Take acceptable risk, learn from it and move on. They've proven that you can accelerate innovation."
Col. Mark Shoemaker, vice commander for operations at Space Launch Delta 45 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, said he views SpaceX's Starship launch as an accomplishment.
"They will say they were successful, and I would agree," he said in the same interview. "I'm sure they learned a lot from that."
SpaceX planned for Starship, a 400-foot-fall rocket that can carry 150 tons to orbit, to fly to a suborbital altitude of 235 km above Earth in its debut mission. Four minutes into the flight, it began to tumble in the air after several of its engines failed. The Washington Post, citing a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration, reported that Starship's Automated Flight Termination System, designed to disable a rocket that malfunctions in flight, destroyed the launch vehicle.
The Defense Department has been closely watching SpaceX's work on Starship as it considers a future requirement for rapid cargo delivery.
In 2020, U.S. Transportation Command signed a cooperative research and development agreement with the company to gain insight into the rocket's development. Two years later, the Air Force Research Laboratory awarded SpaceX more than $100 million to provide flight data from Starship launch attempts to support its Rocket Cargo effort, which is studying the feasibility of using rockets to carry personnel and cargo around the globe.
Whether SpaceX's unsuccessful attempt will impact the Space Force's goal to operationalize a Rocket Cargo capability by 2026 is unclear and will likely depend on the cause of the failure and how quickly the company recovers.
SpaceX has two more Starships on hand but hasn't indicated when it will attempt another launch. John Insprucker, an engineer for the company, said during its live webcast that the flight achieved its objective to provide data the company can learn from.
"It is the first test flight of Starship, and the goal was to gather the data," he said, adding that after the dust settles, SpaceX intends to "clear the pad and get ready to go again.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
https:geopoliticalfutures.com
Daily Memo: Opening a Trans-Caspian Corridor
It would be a logistical nightmare, but the biggest obstacles are geopolitical.
By: Kamran Bokhari
April 24, 2023
A trans-Caspian energy and trade corridor has long captured the interest of many nations that would benefit from its creation, and the war in Ukraine has made things only more urgent. The reasons it has never come to fruition are fairly obvious; ferrying hydrocarbons and other commodities from Central Asia along a route that bypasses Russian territory is a massive logistical undertaking. But the biggest obstacle is geopolitical. The nations comprising Central Asia and the South Caucasus will have to manage a litany of issues for a trans-Caspian corridor to ever take off.
Which is why some recent reports out of Central Asia are so interesting. On April 10, the presidents of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan jointly called for increased oil exports through Azerbaijan. In late March, Kazakh state-owned energy firm KazMunayGas began shipping oil from the Kashagan field, located in the Caspian Sea, to the Azerbaijani terminal of Sangachal for onward distribution via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Only a year earlier, oil from Kazakhstan's Tengiz field was exported through the same route, in accordance with a contract between KazMunayGas and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
A trans-Caspian corridor could involve any number of players, including countries like Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which have substantial natural gas reserves. But for now, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are the essential pieces in a trans-regional energy shipment network. Both understand as much, and both are capitalizing on regional conflicts to enhance their respective positions.
Azerbaijan After 2020
In late 2020, Azerbaijan retook territory it had lost to Armenia in the first Nagorno-Karabakh War during the 1990s. Buoyed by military and intelligence support from Turkey and taking advantage of Russia's preoccupation in eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan made its move knowing it may not have a better opportunity. The bet paid off; Russia came in late, brokered a cease-fire and, in doing so, tipped the regional balance of power – which Russia had been maintaining for decades – back in Azerbaijan's favor. A year later, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Azerbaijan was already brimming with a newfound confidence that it had greater room to maneuver in the region. The Russians quickly running into problems with their war in Ukraine only further reinforced this perception among the Azerbaijanis.
Azerbaijan's gains could pay significant geoeconomic dividends to both Baku and Ankara. The post-2020 regional order could give Turkey a land bridge to access the energy resources in the trans-Caspian region – putting it one step closer to its goal of becoming a regional energy hub. Azerbaijan would similarly become a critical hub in the envisioned corridor. And it could do so not just because of the new military reality in the region but also because it was able to put some distance between it and Russia.
Kazakhstan After 2022
A similar situation has been taking place east of the Caspian. A month before Russia invaded Ukraine, Kazakhstan went through its own political crisis. A hike in fuel prices in early January triggered major civil unrest throughout the country, and various factions of the political elite who were jockeying for power quickly hijacked the protests. What began as peaceful demonstrations quickly descended into violence as armed gunmen attacked government facilities. In just two weeks, the government was able to bring things under control with some help from a Collective Security Treaty Organization task force composed of about 2,500 troops, most of whom were Russian.
Much has been made of the role foreign forces played in helping Astana quell the unrest, but the fact is that they were in country for a little over a week and were guarding key facilities; Kazakh forces were doing the heavy lifting. In fact, Moscow was relieved to see Kazakhstan restore order because it was drawing up plans to invade Ukraine. The last thing Russia wanted was trouble in its strategic rear as it moved ahead with a major confrontation with the West.
For the government in Astana, the war in Ukraine has been a challenge and an opportunity. Kazakhstan depends on Russia's Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) to export oil, which is a major source of government revenue. Kazakhstan's public rejection of Moscow's annexation of areas in Ukraine's Donbas region as well as its compliance with international sanctions against the Kremlin has caused Russia to periodically shut down the CPC to the Kazakhs. Astana's need to reduce dependency on Moscow's pipeline has been galvanized by the new environment in which otherwise uncharted options are becoming necessary.
What Lies Ahead
Russia's struggles in Ukraine are thus changing the strategic landscapes of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Both regions now have the time and space to engage more with each other, especially economically. For the foreseeable future, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan will be the two pillars of this economic connectivity. Transportation between their ports will likely be the mainstay of the economic corridor in the making.
Several geopolitical developments will affect the corridor's development. Russia may be under pressure, but it cannot afford to let a project like this threaten its monopoly of Eurasian trade routes. Its efforts to forge a natural gas union with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is just one way the Kremlin could limit the extent to which Central Asian nations can go it alone. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan, strategically located and energy-rich though it may be, will take a while to transition from its largely isolationist policies. For double-landlocked Uzbekistan, a trans-Caspian corridor will, despite its challenges, be a far better option than waiting for trade access from Afghanistan, which is ruled by the Taliban, or from Pakistan, which is in the throes of an unprecedented political crisis. Elsewhere, Turkey needs to sort out its internal political and economic issues before it can mediate a durable peace in the South Caucasus, much less use it as a launchpad for building a Turkic bloc. Then there is Iran, which has problems of its own but whose interests align with Russia's, especially in terms of their joint efforts to establish a north-south corridor. China, meanwhile, is trying to take advantage of Russia's worries to push westward in Eurasia. Such is the strategic landscape that the United States and its allies will have to navigate as they pursue their interests of reducing international dependency on Russia.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
This Day in U S Military History…….April 24
1862 – Flag Officer Farragut's fleet ran past Forts Jackson and St. Philip and engaged the defending Confederate flotilla. At 2:00 a.m., U.S.S. Hartford had shown Farragut's signal for the fleet to get underway in three divisions to steam through the breach in the obstructions which had been opened by U.S.S. Pinola and Itasca. A withering fire from the forts was answered by roaring broadsides from the ships. Hartford, grounded in the swift current near Fort St. Philip, was set afire by a Confederate fireraft. Farragut's leadership and the disciplined training of the crew saved the flagship. U.S.S. Varuna was rammed by two Confederate ships and sunk In( 7 MOH were awarded to crewmen) the ensuing melee, C.S.S. Warrior, Stonewall Jackson, General Lovell, and Breckinridge, tender Phoenix, steamers Star and Belle Algerine, and Louisiana gunboat General Quitman were destroyed. The armored ram C.S.S. Manassas was driven ashore by U.S.S. Mississippi and sunk. Steam tenders C.S.S. Landis and W. Burton surrendered; Resolute and Governor Moore were destroyed to prevent capture. "The destruction of the Navy at New Orleans," wrote Confederate Secretary of the Navy Mallory, "was a sad, sad blow . . . When the Union Navy passed the forts and disposed of the Confederate forces afloat, the fate of New Orleans was decided. Farragut had achieved a brilliant victory, one which gave true meaning to the Flag Officer's own words: "The great man in our country must not only plan but execute.
1865 – C.S.S. Webb, Lieutenant Read, dashed from the Red River under forced draft and entered the Mississippi at 8:30 at night in a heroic last-ditch effort to escape to sea. Before departing Alexandria, Louisiana, for his bold attempt, Read wrote Secretary Mallory: "I will have to stake everything upon speed and time." The sudden appearance of the white-painted Webb in the Mississippi caught the Union blockaders (a monitor and two ironclads) at the mouth of the Red River by surprise. She was initially identified as a Federal ship; this mistake in identification gave Read a lead in the dash downstream. A running battle ensued in which Webb shook off the three Union pursuers. As Read proceeded down the Mississippi, other blockading ships took up the chase but were outdistanced by the fast moving Webb, which some observers claimed was making 25 knots. While churning with the current toward New Orleans, Read paused at one point to cut the telegraph wires along the bank. This proved futile as word of his escape and approach passed southward where it generated considerable excitement and a flurry of messages between the Army and Navy commanders who alerted shore batteries and ships to intercept him. About 10 miles above New Orleans Read hoisted the United States flag at half mast in mourning for Lincoln's death and brought Webb's steam pressure up to maximum. He passed the city at about midnight, 24 April, going full speed. Federal gunboats opened on him, whereupon Read broke the Confederate flag. Three hits were scored, the spar torpedo rigged at the steamer's bow was damaged and had to be jettisoned, but the Webb continued on course toward the sea. Twenty-five miles below New Orleans Read's luck ran out, for here Webb encountered U.S.S. Richmond. Thus trapped between Richmond and pursuing gunboats, Read's audacious and well-executed plan came to an end. Webb was run aground and set on fire before her officers and men took to the swamps in an effort to escape. Read and his crew were apprehended within a few hours and taken under guard to New Orleans. They there suffered the indignity of being placed on public display but were subsequently paroled and ordered to their respective homes. Following the restoration of peace, Read became a pilot of the Southwest Pass, one of the mouths of the Mississippi River, and pursued that occupation until his death.
1945 – On Okinawa, Japanese forces defending the Shuri Line, in the south, begin tactical withdrawals. (24 of 82 days in the battle the worst is yet to come. Skip)
1948 – The Berlin airlift began to relieve the surrounded city.
1951 – U.S. Air Force Captain Joseph C. McConnell, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, qualified as the sixth "double ace" (10 kills) of the war.
1971 – North Vietnamese troops hit Allied installations throughout South Vietnam. In the most devastating attack, the ammunition depot at Qui Nhon was blown up. On April 27, the aviation fuel tanks at Da Nang air base were attacked by communist gunners, resulting in explosions and a fire that destroyed a large proportion of the fuel stored there. In the following three days, 54 South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were reported killed, and 185 wounded. The United States reported seven dead and 60 wounded.
1974 – Naval forces begin minesweeping operations in the Suez Canal Zone.
1980 – An ill-fated military operation to rescue the 52 American hostages held in Tehran ends with eight U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages rescued. With the Iran Hostage Crisis stretching into its sixth month and all diplomatic appeals to the Iranian government ending in failure, President Jimmy Carter ordered the military mission as a last ditch attempt to save the hostages. During the operation, three of eight helicopters failed, crippling the crucial airborne plans. The mission was then canceled at the staging area in Iran, but during the withdrawal one of the retreating helicopters collided with one of six C-130 transport planes, killing eight soldiers and injuring five. The next day, a somber Jimmy Carter gave a press conference in which he took full responsibility for the tragedy. The hostages were not released for another 270 days. On November 4, 1979, the crisis began when militant Iranian students, outraged that the U.S. government had allowed the ousted shah of Iran to travel to the U.S. for medical treatment, seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran's political and religious leader, took over the hostage situation and agreed to release non-U.S. captives and female and minority Americans, citing these groups as among the people oppressed by the U.S. government. The remaining 52 captives remained at the mercy of the Ayatollah for the next 14 months. President Carter was unable to diplomatically resolve the crisis, and the April 1980 hostage attempt ended in disaster. Three months later, the former shah died of cancer in Egypt, but the crisis continued. In November, Carter lost the presidential election to Republican Ronald Reagan, and soon after, with the assistance of Algerian intermediaries, successful negotiations began between the United States and Iran. On the day of Reagan's inauguration, January 20, 1981, the United States freed almost $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets, and the 52 hostages were released after 444 days. The next day, Jimmy Carter flew to West Germany to greet the Americans on their way home.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
TRUESDELL, DONALD LEROY (Name officially changed to Truesdale ) Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps. Place and date: Vicinity Constancia, near Coco River, northern Nicaragua, 24 April 1932. Entered service at: South Carolina. Born: 8 August 1906, Lugoff, S.C. Citation: Cpl. Truesdale was second in command of a Guardia Nacional Patrol in active operations against armed bandit forces in the vicinity of Constancia, near Coco River, northern Nicaragua, on 24 April 1932. While the patrol was in formation on the trail searching for a bandit group with which contact had just previously been made, a rifle grenade fell from its carrier and struck a rock, igniting the detonator. Several men close to the grenade at the time were in danger. Cpl. Truesdale, who was several yards away, could easily have sought cover and safety for himself. Knowing full well the grenade would explode within 2 or 3 seconds, he rushed for the grenade, grasped it in his right hand, and attempted to throw it away from the patrol. The grenade exploded in his hand, blowing it off and inflicting serious multiple wounds about his body. Cpl. Truesdale, in taking the full shock of the explosion himself, saved the members of the patrol from loss of life or serious injury.
*NELSON, WILLIAM L .
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. Place and date: At Djebel Dardys, Northwest of Sedjenane, Tunisia, 24 April 1943. Entered service at: Middletown, Del. Birth: Dover, Del. G.O. No.: 85, 17 December 1943. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty in action involving actual conflict. On the morning of 24 April 1943, Sgt. Nelson led his section of heavy mortars to a forward position where he placed his guns and men. Under intense enemy artillery, mortar, and small-arms fire, he advanced alone to a chosen observation position from which he directed the laying of a concentrated mortar barrage which successfully halted an initial enemy counterattack. Although mortally wounded in the accomplishment of his mission, and with his duty clearly completed, Sgt. Nelson crawled to a still more advanced observation point and continued to direct the fire of his section. Dying of handgrenade wounds and only 50 yards from the enemy, Sgt. Nelson encouraged his section to continue their fire and by doing so they took a heavy toll of enemy lives. The skill which Sgt. Nelson displayed in this engagement, his courage, and self-sacrificing devotion to duty and heroism resulting in the loss of his life, was a priceless inspiration to our Armed Forces and were in keeping with the highest tradition of the U.S. Army.
*SQUIRES, JOHN C .
Rank and organization: Sergeant (then Private First Class), U.S. Army, Company A, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Padiglione, Italy, 23-24 April 1944. Entered service at: Louisville, Ky. Birth: Louisville, Ky. G.O. No.: 78, 2 October 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. At the start of his company's attack on strongly held enemy positions in and around Spaccasassi Creek, near Padiglione, Italy, on the night of 23-24 April 1944, Pfc. Squires, platoon messenger, participating in his first offensive action, braved intense artillery, mortar, and antitank gun fire in order to investigate the effects of an antitank mine explosion on the leading platoon. Despite shells which burst close to him, Pfc. Squires made his way 50 yards forward to the advance element, noted the situation, reconnoitered a new route of advance and informed his platoon leader of the casualties sustained and the alternate route. Acting without orders, he rounded up stragglers, organized a group of lost men into a squad and led them forward. When the platoon reached Spaccasassi Creek and established an outpost, Pfc. Squires, knowing that almost all of the noncommissioned officers were casualties, placed 8 men in position of his own volition, disregarding enemy machinegun, machine-pistol, and grenade fire which covered the creek draw. When his platoon had been reduced to 14 men, he brought up reinforcements twice. On each trip he went through barbed wire and across an enemy minefield, under intense artillery and mortar fire. Three times in the early morning the outpost was counterattacked. Each time Pfc. Squires ignored withering enemy automatic fire and grenades which struck all around him, and fired hundreds of rounds of rifle, Browning automatic rifle, and captured German Spandau machinegun ammunition at the enemy, inflicting numerous casualties and materially aiding in repulsing the attacks. Following these fights, he moved 50 yards to the south end of the outpost and engaged 21 German soldiers in individual machinegun duels at point-blank range, forcing all 21 enemy to surrender and capturing 13 more Spandau guns. Learning the function of this weapon by questioning a German officer prisoner, he placed the captured guns in position and instructed other members of his platoon in their operation. The next night when the Germans attacked the outpost again he killed 3 and wounded more Germans with captured potato-masher grenades and fire from his Spandau gun. Pfc. Squires was killed in a subsequent action.
WILSON, HAROLD E.
Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Company G, 3d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Korea, 23-24 April 1951. Entered service at: Birmingham, Ala. Born: S December 1921, Birmingham, Ala. Citation: For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as platoon sergeant of a rifle platoon attached to Company G, in action against enemy aggressor forces on the night of 23-24 April 1951. When the company outpost was overrun by the enemy while his platoon, firing from hastily constructed foxholes, was engaged in resisting the brunt of a fierce mortar, machine gun, grenade, and small-arms attack launched by hostile forces from high ground under cover of darkness, T/Sgt. Wilson braved intense fire to assist the survivors back into the line and to direct the treatment of casualties. Although twice wounded by gunfire, in the right arm and the left leg, he refused medical aid for himself and continued to move about among his men, shouting words of encouragement. After receiving further wounds in the head and shoulder as the attack increased in intensity, he again insisted upon remaining with his unit. Unable to use either arm to fire, and with mounting casualties among our forces, he resupplied his men with rifles and ammunition taken from the wounded. Personally reporting to his company commander on several occasions, he requested and received additional assistance when the enemy attack became even more fierce and, after placing the reinforcements in strategic positions in the line, directed effective fire until blown off his feet by the bursting of a hostile mortar round in his face. Dazed and suffering from concussion, he still refused medical aid and, despite weakness from loss of blood, moved from foxhole to foxhole, directing fire, resupplying ammunition, rendering first aid, and encouraging his men. By his heroic actions in the face of almost certain death, when the unit's ability to hold the disadvantageous position was doubtful, he instilled confidence in his troops, inspiring them to rally repeatedly and turn back the furious assaults. At dawn, after the final attack had been repulsed, he personally accounted for each man in his platoon before walking unassisted l/2 mile to the aid station where he submitted to treatment. His outstanding courage, initiative, and skilled leadership in the face of overwhelming odds were contributing factors in the success of his company's mission and reflect the highest credit upon T/Sgt. Wilson and the U.S. Naval Service.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for April 24, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
24 April
1909: The first aerial motion picture was shot while Wilbur Wright flew his Wright Biplane over Centocelle, Italy. (20)
1929: Flying a Bellanca CH monoplane, Miss Elinor Smith, a 17-year-old, set a women's solo duration record of 26 hours 21 minutes 32 seconds at Roosevelt, Long Island. (20) (24)
7-24 April 1942: Liquid-propellant rockets developed by Dr. Frank S. Malina, a member of the Caltech "Suicide Club," are evaluated on an AAF Douglas A-20A aircraft. A total of 44 Jet Assisted Takeoffs (JATO) were made during the test program. (JPL image. Technically, they were "rocket" assisted takeoffs)
1943: First class of women pilots graduated from US AAF flight training. 1945: MEDAL OF HONOR. In his fighter-bomber, Lt Raymond L. Knight of Twelfth Air Force flew several low-level strafing missions in Italy's northern Po Valley. He destroyed 14 enemy aircraft and wrecked 10 others on the ground. In his final attack, Knight's plane was damaged so badly it was virtually inoperable. Realizing his unit's critical need for aircraft, he tried to return to base. He crashed and died in the Apennines Mountains. Knight earned the medal for his actions and sacrifice. (4)
1946: At Philadelphia, Winged Cargo Incorporated inaugurated the first glider commercial freight service. The company employed a DC-3 towing a Waco glider and made Miami its first stop. Other stops included Havana, Cuba, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. (24)
1951: KOREAN WAR. On separate pickups, a 3 ARS H-5 helicopter rescued the pilot first, then the navigator of a downed B-26 near Chorwon, about 15 miles north of the 38th parallel. The navigator, suffering a broken leg, had been captured by two enemy soldiers, but he managed to seize a gun from one enemy soldier, causing them to run for cover. Friendly fighters kept them pinned down, while the helicopter made the pickup. (28)
1992: Two Peruvian fighters attacked and heavily damaged a USAF C-130 Hercules in international airspace. Captain Pete B. Eunice, a 310 MAS pilot, still managed a safe landing. For that effort, the C-130 crew earned the 1992 Mackay Trophy. This highly classified anti-drug surveillance mission remains controversial even today. One Airman was killed, and others were wounded onboard the aircraft during the Peruvian Su-22 attack.
1958: The USAF increased the Atlas force to nine squadrons. (6)
1962: The USAF used an orbiting satellite for the first time to transmit TV photographs from Camp Parks, Calif., to Westford, Mass. (4)
1967: AIRFIELD STRIKE. Eight F-105s attacked Hoa Lac Airfield, a North Vietnam MiG base. This first authorized attack against an occupied North Vietnamese air base under the restrictions imposed on US air power destroyed approximately 14 MiGs on the ground. (17)
1975: FIRST WOMEN IN MISSILE COMPETITIONS. Through 2 May, the first female technicians actively participated in SAC's eighth missile competition. A1C Jeanine A. Sousley competed with the 308 SMW's reentry vehicle maintenance team, while Sgt Jo A. Williamson competed with the 321 SMW's electronic laboratory maintenance team. The 381 SMW from McConnell AFB won the Blanchard Trophy. (1) (6)
1980: Operation EVENING LIGHT/EAGLE CLAW. An attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran failed after mechanical difficulties caused some Navy RH-53 helicopter crews to turn back. An RH-53 and an Air Force HC-130 also crashed together in a sandstorm, killing eight servicemen. (21)
1990: The USAF accepted its first British Aerospace C-29A Combat Flight Inspection Aircraft from LTV's Sierra Research Division at the Company's plant at Buffalo, N.Y. The C-29 would help the USAF inspect and calibrate its air traffic control and landing facilities, replacing CT-39s and C-140s used for that mission. (8: Jul 90) Boeing's Condor, an unmanned autonomous aircraft, completed eight test flights as part of a high altitude, long-endurance technology effort under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The aircraft had a wing span larger than the Boeing 747. (8: Jul 90) HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE. On the 35th Space Shuttle flight, the Discovery lifted off with a crew of five. Astronaut Steven Hawley released the telescope the next day. (20) AMERICAN
1992: MACKAY TROPHY. Two Peruvian fighters attacked and heavily damaged an USAF C-130 Hercules in international airspace. Captain Pete B. Eunice, a 310 MAS pilot, still managed a safe landing. For that effort, the C-130 crew earned the 1992 Mackay Trophy. (16) (18)
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SkipsList" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to skipslist+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/skipslist/CACTjsm0aMbv8Mu7SFDpnTHj7i6Z3g68M%3Dd%2BXsKNqJPz%3DFDOcpg%40mail.gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.