To All,
Good Thursday morning August 24,2023
Off to the airport in a bit to head for Reno and Tailhook. Back on Sunday
Regards,
Skip
Today in Naval and Marine Corps History
Aug. 24
1814 During the War of 1812, the British invade Md. and burn Washington, D.C. Commodore Thomas Tingey, superintendent of the Washington Navy Yard, burns the Navy Yard to prevent British access during the invasion.
1862 During the Civil War, Capt. Raphael Semmes takes command of CSS Alabama at sea off the island of Terceira, Azores, beginning his career of raiding American commerce.
1912 The collier, USS Jupiter, is launched. The vessel is the first electrically-propelled Navy ship. She is renamed USS Langley in April 1920 with the designation of aircraft carrier CV-1 and a few months later becomes the Navys first aircraft carrier in March 1922 following conversion.
1942 Task Force 61, commanded by Vice Adm. Frank J. Fletcher, engages the Japanese First Carrier Division, Third Fleet, commanded by Vice Adm. Nagumo Chuchi, during Battle of Eastern Solomons. Planes from Japanese carrier, Ryujo, bomb U.S. positions on Lunga Point but SBDs from VB-3 and TBFs from VT-8 off carrier USS Saratoga (CV 3) sink Ryujo. Additionally, USS Enterprise (CV 6) is damaged by carrier bombers from Japanese carrier, Shokaku. As a result of this battle, the Japanese recall the expedition to recapture Guadalcanal.
1943 TBF aircraft from USS Core (CVE 13) sinks the German submarine (U 185) southwest of the Azores.
1992 USS Essex (LHD 2) is commissioned without ceremony from Pascagoula, Miss., in order to take part in an emergency sortie to avoid Hurricane Andrew. After transiting through the Panama Canal, USS Essex is officially commissioned Oct. 17 at Naval Air Station, North Island, San Diego.
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Today in World History: August 24
0079 Mount Vesuvius erupts destroying Pompeii, Stabiae, Herculaneum and other smaller settlements.
0410 German barbarians sack Rome.
1542 In South America, Gonzalo Pizarro returns to the mouth of the Amazon River after having sailed the length of the great river as far as the Andes Mountains.
1572 Some 50,000 people are put to death in the 'Massacre of St. Bartholomew' as Charles IX of France attempts to rid the country of Huguenots.
1780 King Louis XVI abolishes torture as a means to get suspects to confess.
1814 British troops under General Robert Ross capture Washington, D.C., which they set on fire in retaliation for the American burning of the parliament building in York (Toronto), the capital of Upper Canada.
1847 Charlotte Bronte, using the pseudonym Currer Bell, sends a manuscript of Jane Eyre to her publisher in London.
169 Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York, patents the waffle iron.
1891 Thomas Edison files a patent for the motion picture camera.
1894 Congress passes the first graduated income tax law, which is declared unconstitutional the next year.
1896 Thomas Brooks is shot and killed by an unknown assailant beginning a six year feud with the McFarland family.
1912 By an act of Congress, Alaska is given a territorial legislature of two houses.
1942 In the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the third carrier-versus-carrier battle of the war, U.S. naval forces defeat a Japanese force attempting to screen reinforcements for the Guadalcanal fighting.
1948 Edith Mae Irby becomes the first African-American student to attend the University of Arkansas.
1954 Congress outlaws the Communist Party in the United States.
1963 US State Department cables embassy in Saigon that if South Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem does not remove his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu as his political adviser the US would explore alternative leadership, setting the stage for a coup by ARVN generals.
1975 The principal leaders of Greece's 1967 coup—Georgios Papadopoulos, Stylianos Pattakos, and Nikolaos Maarezos—sentenced to death for high treason, later commuted to life in prison.
1981 Mark David Chapman sentenced to 20 years to life for murdering former Beatles band member John Lennon.
1989 Baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti bans Pete Rose from baseball for gambling.
1989 Colombian drug lords declare "total and absolute war" on Colombia's government, booming the offices of two political parties and burning two politicians' homes.
1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; Ukraine declares its independence from USSR.
1992 Hurricane Andrew makes landfall in Florida. The Category 5 storm, which had already caused extensive damage in the Bahamas, caused $26.5 billion in US damages, caused 65 deaths, and felled 70,000 acres of trees in the Everglades.
1994 Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) create initial accord regarding partial self-rule for Palestinians living on the West Bank, the Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities.
2004 Chechnyan suicide bombers blow up two airliners near Moscow, killing 89 passengers.
2006 Pluto is downgraded to a dwarf planet when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines "planet."
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear … Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
Skip… For The List for Thursday, 24 August 2023… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 24 August 1968…
A poem: "Missing in Action" by Laura Turner, niece of Colonel Charles Read, USAF, MIA
Thanks to Micro
From Vietnam Air Losses site for Thursday, August 24
August 24th: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=227
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 BORIS More on the battle of Guadalcanal
Problems: Withdrawal of the Carriers (3 of 3)
In a series on carrier operations at the beginning of WWII it would be remiss not to discuss the controversial decisions made by VADM Fletcher concerning withdrawing his TF-61 carriers from the immediate vicinity of the attack after the initial landings. The basic role of the carriers in the Watchtower landings was, of course, to provide air support, in particular fighter cover.
This piece is not intended to cover the events in detail but only to provide basic context in the early evolution of carriers in warfare. It is useful to reflect on three items: 1) TF-61 was composed of three of only four US carriers in the Pacific; 2) it is well worth highlighting how much the rough parity of carrier forces of the two sides contributed to the protracted nature of the overall bloody struggle for the island; 3) This type of co-dependent warfare was new and mostly unpracticed. There were no senior officer experts.
Fletcher's Dilemma
VADM Frank Jack Fletcher was the most battle-seasoned senior officer in Operation Watchtower. The experience of combat had taught him its costs. At both Coral Sea and Midway he had had a great carrier, the Lexington and then the Yorktown, sunk from under him. At a time when the Pacific carrier fleet numbered just four, three of which were assigned to Watchtower, he was fearful of further losses.
During the day, the Enterprise, Wasp, and Saratoga operated from a position about twenty-five miles south of the eastern end of Guadalcanal. From there, naval aircraft on patrol were but a quick few minutes from the beaches. Though Japanese planes from Rabaul six hundred miles away would have little capacity to strike them even if they could find them, the danger posed by the Japanese carriers (of uncertain location, Japan, Truk, Rabul?) and submarines was considerable.
Fletcher envisioned another grim carrier battle soon. He must be ready for enemy carriers at any time, despite rosy intelligence estimates from Pearl—the most recent on the afternoon of 8 August—placing the Japanese carriers in home waters. Intelligence could be wrong, and the resulting surprise quite deadly, as the Japanese at Coral Sea and Midway could attest, not to mention Kimmel at Pearl Harbor. The tactical necessity of protecting a fixed point put heavy demands on the defensive capabilities of Fletcher's carriers. They were accustomed to strike swiftly and draw clear of retaliation. Now they were exposed not only to the threat of opposing carriers, but also subs (messages reported several en route) and the more vigorous than anticipated land-based air.
The sudden appearance of numerous medium bombers toting torpedoes, land-based air's most effective antiship weapon, provided another strong reason for concern, especially given the combat air patrol's questionable performance. Fletcher had not expected torpedo planes, certainly not ones augmented by fierce Zero escorts, could even reach him off distant Guadalcanal.
He queried Noyes whether the noon attackers "were actually carrying torpedoes," and was assured they did. Maas wrote that night, "The use by Japs of long-range torpedo planes makes our present position untenable, dangerous, and foolhardy." That was particularly true if the carriers could legitimately get clear without harming the overall mission.
From 9 to 23 August, Japan only managed, using swift destroyers and stealth, to land one thousand lightly equipped infantrymen, whom Vandegrift's dug-in marines outnumbered ten to one. A few destroyer-loads of infantry could not overrun the First Marine Division. That required artillery and other heavy weapons, plus many more men and supplies that only transports could bring. First, the Japanese must destroy or neutralize Fletcher's carriers.
A severe defeat at that juncture would have cost Guadalcanal.
Fletcher's critics
To Fletcher's legion of critics the request to withdraw defined his naval career. In 1943 Turner bitterly complained to Morison that Fletcher left him "bare-arse." In 1945 he officially characterized the action as nothing less than "desertion," undertaken for reasons "known only" to Fletcher. Vandegrift described Fletcher, "Running away twelve hours earlier than he had already threatened during our unpleasant meeting."
Official judgments were equally unsparing. On 23 August 1942 Nimitz condemned the withdrawal as "most unfortunate." In December Admiral Pye, president of the Naval War College, called the pullout "certainly regrettable," which risked "the whole operation." In 1943 Admiral Hepburn's final Savo report labeled Fletcher's action a "contributory cause of the disproportionate damage" incurred in that battle. The Cominch Secret Information Bulletin No. 2 gave short shrift to the reasons attributed to Fletcher's decision, including needless worry about "bombing and torpedo planes." The 1950 Naval War College analysis of Savo expanded on Pye's original points and concluded, "Such a precipitous departure" would "seriously jeopardize the success of the entire operation" and "prevent the inauguration of Task Two."
Many historians have accepted the official judgments without question. Morison wrote, "It must have seemed to [Turner] then, as it seems to us now, that Fletcher's reasons for withdrawal were flimsy." The carriers "could have remained in the area with no more severe consequences than sunburn." Marine Brigadier General Griffith, historian as well as participant, completely concurred. He conceded, "Fletcher did have a point. We just couldn't lose our carriers, but damn it, how the Marines suffered!" Vice Admiral Dyer did present Fletcher's side, but his sympathies lay with Turner. The situation did not justify the carrier withdrawal. That was also the carefully considered judgment of Richard Frank, who concluded Fletcher, rightly or wrongly, placed the preservation of his carriers ahead of everything else. All other accounts derive from these key analyses.
The paramount question was whether the carriers were foremost in Fletcher's mind, or the overall operation.
Looking at the bigger picture
Fletcher was said to be the only U.S. flag officer who understood that Watchtower would provoke the Japanese to a major naval counterattack. "His major job," wrote author Richard B. Frank, "was to win the carrier fleet action that would decide the fate of the Marines." If that was the case, it would have been reckless to risk his carriers before that threat appeared. He knew he would have to win that battle without ready reinforcement to make up his losses. No new carriers were due from the shipyards until late 1943.
There is little doubt Fletcher's view of the situation off Guadalcanal took a serious accounting of the strategic significance of this scarcity of carrier power.
In January 1943 Rear Adm. George Murray independently confirmed Fletcher's assessment. According to Murray, "The carrier task force problem, so far as refueling is concerned, hinges on destroyer consumption," an "interesting sidelight [that] should be kept constantly in mind." While "in an advanced area a task force cannot afford to approximate the low limit of fuel for the simple reason that it then is virtually immobilized for offensive operations involving 48 hours of high-speed steaming."
A well-situated referee to the controversy over Fletcher's decision making was Marine colonel Melvin J. Maas. If his position on Fletcher's staff makes his sympathy for his boss unsurprising, his status as a leatherneck inclined him to balanced perspective. He believed the only way the Japanese could retake Guadalcanal was through a major amphibious counteroffensive. Maas wrote:
"Marines cannot be dislodged by bombers. Because he saw the carriers as the key to preventing an enemy landing, he favored a withdrawal of the carriers, even at the expense of his brothers.
"To be able to intercept and defeat [Japanese troop landings], our carrier task forces must be fueled and away so as not to be trapped here.… By withdrawing to Nouméa or Tongatabu, we can be in a position to intercept and pull a second Midway on their carriers. If, however, we stay on here and then, getting very low on fuel, withdraw to meet our tankers, and if they should be torpedoed, our whole fleet would be caught helpless and would be cold meat for the Japs, with a resultant loss of our fleet, 2/3 of our carriers, and we would lose Tulagi as well, with all the Marines there and perhaps all the transports.
"It is true, Marines will take a pounding until their own air gets established (about ten days or so), but they can dig in, hole up, and wait. Extra losses are a localized operation. This is balanced against a potential National tragedy. Loss of our fleet or one or more of these carriers is a real, worldwide tragedy."
Former marine staff officer and historian Herbert Christian Merillat, certainly no admirer of Fletcher, recognized in his postlanding strategy the "classic role of a 'fleet in being.'" The U.S. carriers kept "their enemy counterpart at a cautious distance from the embattled island until one side or the other should find an occasion propitious for forcing the other into a 'decisive battle.'" Although "few marines were aware of it," Merillat thought, "they had reason to be grateful to the American carriers' distant prowling." Those flattops, "so long as they lasted," provided "distant cover for the movement of supplies and reinforcements to Cactus."
Hindsight has obliterated the validity of Fletcher's prudence The critics ignore the possibility Fletcher might actually have learned something at Coral Sea and Midway, especially as he now found himself in the reverse role of his erstwhile opponents in supporting an amphibious thrust deep into enemy-controlled waters. It is worth considering that this was a new type of war for all- land, sea and air, and even to the end both combatants were equally paired. The U.S. could ill afford the loss of most or all of its carriers in Aug 1942.
Just as he thought that with the marines ashore Turner's immediate task neared its end, he understood the job of the carriers had only begun. In the short term they were the only shield against powerful naval and ground forces intent on destroying the marine lodgment. A large counter-landing would require strong carrier support to sweep away naval opposition before the actual landing force drew within range. Was this not compelling enough reason to get the carriers clear of the invasion area and prepare for action.
At that point in the Guadalcanal campaign, Fletcher's ostensible "inaction" served the Allied cause far better than the alternative.
From Boris
My take probably runs counter to many even 81 years after the fact.
Others may have acted differently than VADM Fletcher, but based on what? This stuff was brand new and intel was all over the place.
We lose 3 of 4 carriers in early August, then what? The Battle of the Easter Solomans 24-25 August was a steady state mess. No one knew where anyone was. As I said "Blindman's Bluff." We won-barely against equal Japanese CV forces- barely. And that was with Cactus AF guys now and with open ocean operating.
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This Day in Aviation History" brought to you by the Daedalians Airpower Blog Update. To subscribe to this weekly email, go to https://daedalians.org/airpower-blog/.
Aug. 23, 1948
The XF-85 Goblin parasite fighter first flew at Muroc Field, California, now known as Edwards AFB. The Goblin was designed to be carried inside another aircraft.
Aug. 24, 1942
Flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Marion Eugene Carl, a 27-year-old fighter pilot assigned to Marine Fighter Squadron 223 (VMF-223) based at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal Island, shot down four enemy airplanes. They were a Mitsubishi A6M "Zeke" fighter, a Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty" medium bomber and two Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers. Carl had previously shot down an A6M during the Battle of Midway, less than three months earlier. He now had five aerial combat victories, making him the Marine Corps' first ace. He was awarded the Navy Cross (his second) for his actions in the Solomon Islands from Aug. 24 to Sept. 9, 1942. To learn more about Captain Carl, visit HERE.
Aug. 25, 1932
Amelia Earhart flew her Lockheed Model 5B Vega, NR7952, from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, a distance of 2,447.74 miles, in 19 hours, 5 minutes, becoming the first woman to fly nonstop across the U.S. Her average speed for the flight was 128.27 miles per hour.
Aug. 26, 1967
Then-Maj. George E. "Bud" Day, F-100 Forward Air Controller pilot, was forced to eject from his aircraft over North Vietnam when it was hit by ground fire. His right arm was broken in 3 places, and his left knee was badly sprained. He was captured by the enemy, but escaped despite his injuries. He was shot in his left thigh and left hand when he was recaptured. As a POW, Colonel Day suffered the most brutal conditions. He was imprisoned for 2,028 days before being released March 14, 1973. On March 4, 1976, he was presented the Medal of Honor by President Gerald Ford. Colonel Day was a Daedalian Life Member. He passed away on July 27, 2013. He was posthumously advanced to the rank of brigadier general by order of the president on June 8, 2018. The former Seagull Flight in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was renamed the George E. "Bud" Day Flight 61 on Dec. 18, 2012, in his honor.
Aug. 27, 1941
William R. Dunn, flying with Eagle Squadron 71 (RAF), shot down his fifth enemy plane to become the first American Ace in Europe. He served in Europe, Burma, and China, and ended the war with 15 aerial victories and credit for 12 destroyed on the ground. Learn more about him HERE.
Aug. 28, 1972
Capt. Steve Ritchie and Weapons System Officer Capt. Chuck DeBellevue, leading Buick flight with their F-4D Phantom II, shot down a North Vietnamese MiG 21 interceptor. This was Ritchie's 5th confirmed aerial combat victory, earning him the title of Ace. DeBellevue would later be credited with 6 kills. Flown by 5 different crews, F-4D 66-7463 shot down six enemy fighters from March 1 to Oct. 15, 1972, and is now on display at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Ritchie and DeBellevue are both Daedalian Life Members.
Aug. 29, 1944
Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay became commander of the XX Bomber Command. LeMay, a hard-hitting strategist, was determined to wring out the best possible performances from his new and expensive B-29s.
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Thanks toTom
View the Latest Edition of "This Week @NASA" (published Aug. 18, 2023)
Folks-
I FORGOT!
Catching up!
Tom
OUTSIDE READING:
CRASH LANDING!
STARSHIP 2:
WHY is summer so hot (NOT global warming!) – the SUN!!:
AGENCYWIDE MESSAGE TO ALL NASA EMPLOYEES
Points of Contact: Rebecca Sirmons, rebecca.h.sirmons@nasa.gov, and Andre Valentine, andre.valentine-1@nasa.gov, Office of Communications, NASA Headquarters
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View the Latest Edition of "This Week @NASA" (published Aug. 18, 2023)
View the latest "This Week @NASA," produced by NASA Television, for features on agency news and activities. Stories in this program include:
• Data Shows July 2023 as Hottest Month on Record
• NASA Aircraft Flies High to Investigate Lightning
• Wind Study to Help Future Aircraft Land Safely
• NASA Seeks Experiment Ideas for TechRise Student Challenge
To watch this episode, click on the image below:
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8 Things You Might Not Know About Mount Kilimanjaro
Towering 19,340 feet above sea level, Mount Kilimanjaro is not only the highest mountain in Africa, but also the highest freestanding mountain in the world (meaning it is not part of a larger mountain range). This mighty, snow-capped landform — rising dramatically from the plains of Tanzania in East Africa — was declared a national park in 1973 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Given these stats, it's no surprise that Kilimanjaro is popular with climbers — around 30,000 people attempt to reach the summit each year. Mount Kilimanjaro may be one of the planet's most famous peaks, but here are eight facts you might not know.
1 of 8
Mount Kilimanjaro Is Formed of Three Volcanoes
Mount Kilimanjaro actually consists of three stratovolcanoes running from northwest to southeast, and its three peaks are volcanic cones. Kilimanjaro's highest peak, Uhuru, is found on one of these cones, named Kibo. Though the other two cones, Mawenzi and Shira, are extinct, Kibo is technically dormant. Volcanologists believe the last major eruption of Kilimanjaro took place several thousands of years ago in the Pleistocene era, but fumarolic activity within some of Kibo's summit craters proves that there's still a slim chance of a future eruption.
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Mount Kilimanjaro Is Where You'll Find Africa's Tallest Tree
In 2016, New Scientist reported that a 267-foot-tall Entandrophragma excelsum tree was discovered in a remote valley on Kilimanjaro, making it the tallest known tree in Africa. Fertile volcanic soils coupled with warm temperatures and ample rainfall have allowed the specimen, and others near it, to thrive. Though it's dwarfed by the tallest trees in North America and Australia, such heights aren't the norm in Africa. Scientists are now advocating that territory covered by nearby Kilimanjaro National Park be expanded to include the valley, to better protect the extraordinary trees from threats such as logging.
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Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro Is Part of the Seven Summits Challenge
Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the Seven Summits — the highest peaks on each continent, which form the basis of one of the world's most prestigious mountaineering challenges. American businessman Richard D. Bass became the first person to summit all seven on April 30, 1985, when he conquered his seventh peak, Mount Everest. Climbers have been trying to reach the top of Mount Kilimanjaro since the late 19th century, and a German man named Hans Meyer and his Austrian climbing partner Ludwig Purtscheller made the first documented successful climb to the summit by a European. It was Meyer's second attempt — two years before that record-breaking climb, a wall of ice prevented him from reaching the top. Together with local guide Yohani Kinyala Lauwo, the two climbers made history at Kilimanjaro's summit on October 6, 1889.
4 of 8
Summiting Mount Kilimanjaro Is Arduous, but Not as Technical as You Might Think
There's no question that reaching the top of Mount Kilimanjaro is difficult, but the level of difficulty depends on the path you choose. There are seven routes to the top: Marangu, Machame, Lemosho, Shira, Rongai, Northern Circuit, and Umbwe. Marangu's popularity stems from its relatively gentle gradient and the availability of accommodations on the trail. Lemosho is considered a much tougher climb, but many say that the scenery is better along the way. Umbwe is short at just 23 miles, but steep. On the other hand, the Northern Circuit covers 56 miles. If you are reasonably fit, Kilimanjaro is not as technical a climb as some of the world's taller mountains, though you'll still need to tackle a diverse range of environments — including forest, moorland, scree slopes, and rock faces — as you ascend.
5 of 8
The Fastest Climb to the Top Was Just Under Seven Hours
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro typically takes between five and 10 days, though it's often much quicker for elite athletes. In fact, the current record holder is Swiss-Ecuadorian climber Karl Egloff, who managed the round-trip journey to the summit in an incredible 6 hours and 42 minutes. However, racing to the top is not recommended — the risk of debilitating altitude sickness is significantly reduced for those who trek more carefully. And for most people, it's no walk in the park. Many have failed in their attempts to reach the top, among them former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
6 of 8
Ernest Hemingway Never Actually Climbed Kilimanjaro
In The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Ernest Hemingway opens with the words: "Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude." But Hemingway only viewed Kilimanjaro from its base. His inspiration for this short story came from a photograph taken by a prolific climber named Richard Reusch. In 1926, Reusch stumbled across the animal Hemingway describes at about 18,500 feet above sea level on the crater rim, and captured the moment in a famous photograph. Today, the part of the crater where the creature was spotted is nicknamed Leopard Point.
7 of 8
Kilimanjaro Has Hosted Several Record-Breaking Sporting Events
In September 2014, a group of international cricketers set a world record for the highest-altitude cricket match when they played at Kilimanjaro's Crater Camp. Among the players who participated were fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, who represented South Africa during his career, and former England spinner Ashley Giles. A few years later, women's soccer reached new heights with a game played at 18,700 feet above sea level. The 30 players — hailing from 20 different countries — carried goal posts and nets up the mountain and marked out the pitch with flour to minimize harm to the mountain's precious ecosystem. The 90-minute game ended in a goalless draw.
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The Mountain Has Hosted Many Other Stunts, Often for Charitable Causes
To advertise the opening of the first Pizza Hut in Tanzania in 2016, pepperoni pizza was delivered to employees and guides waiting at the summit of Kilimanjaro. The pizza was cooked in a Dar Es Salaam restaurant and flown to a local airport before being carried up the mountain on foot. An official representing Guinness World Records approved the feat as the highest-altitude pizza delivery ever made. Even straightforward climbs of Kilimanjaro haven't always been, well, straight forward. Sanjay Pandit from Nepal reached the summit and returned to the foot of the mountain walking backward the entire way.
More importantly, climbing Kilimanjaro can be an effective way of highlighting worthy causes in the media and raising money for charity, particularly when celebrities are involved. Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, climbed dressed as a rhino to raise awareness for the Save the Rhino Foundation. And each year, members of Wings of Kilimanjaro climb Kilimanjaro and paraglide back down to raise money for causes such as digging wells and building schools in Tanzania.
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STRATFOR thanks to Brett
More Military Drills Weigh on China's Business Climate and Taiwanese Politics
China's latest round of drills near Taiwan confirms Beijing's intent to use the military as its primary tool of influence over the island, which will accelerate supply chain decoupling by impeding China's trade and diplomatic relations with the West. On Aug. 19, the Chinese military conducted joint air and sea drills in the waters north, east and southwest of the main island of Taiwan, with at least 25 planes crossing the Taiwan Strait median line, according to the PLA Daily, the official newspaper of China's military. The PLA Daily report said the drills were in response to Taiwanese Vice President and leading presidential candidate William Lai's transit stops in the United States on Aug. 12-13 and again on Aug. 16-17 on either end of his trip to Paraguay. The paper also published a piece on Aug. 19 under the pseudonym Jun Sheng (which translates to ''voice of the army'') that decried Lai's visit as promoting Taiwan independence and said ''every time 'Taiwan independence' separatists flee to the United States, the vital interests of the people of Taiwan will be severely damaged.'' Unlike China's previous drills in August 2022 and April 2023, which both involved Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen meeting with U.S. congressional leaders, these latest drills were short (just one day), did not include a live-fire component, and were not given an official name by the military.
• A poll conducted by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF) on Aug. 14-15 and released on Aug. 21 showed that Lai, of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led the presidential election race with 43.4% of public support, up 7% from the previous TPOF survey released on July 25. Lai was followed by third-party candidate Ko Wen-je at 26.6% (down 1.2%) and Beijing's favored candidate, Hou You-ih of the opposition Kuomintang party, who garnered just 13.6% in the latest poll (down 6.6%).
• In response to the Aug. 19 drills, the U.S. State Department urged China to ''cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan'' and engage in dialogue with Taipei instead.
China's drills will strengthen the position of the pro-U.S., anti-China DPP ahead of Taiwan's January 2024 election. The latest drills were quite light compared with China's previous military exercises near Taiwan. They also had little-to-no impact on shipping and air traffic in the busy waters around the island. This may be partly due to the unprovocative nature of Lai's visit to the United States, which was not nearly as high-profile as former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan last summer and Tsai's meeting with Pelosi's successor, Kevin McCarthy, in April — both of which prompted much more extensive Chinese drills. The smaller scope of the Aug. 19 drills also reflects Beijing's desire to minimize the deleterious impact on public support in Taiwan for Hou, China's favored candidate in the island's upcoming presidential election. Recent polls show Hou's popularity is already dropping — a trend that Beijing's latest drills are unlikely to reverse. But Lai's current large lead over Hou will probably somewhat dissipate in the coming months, as the boost from China's past drills on the DPP's polling numbers also dissipated over time. In addition, Hou has pledged to visit the United States later this fall, which is unlikely to prompt heavy Chinese retaliation and could give him a boost in the polls if he's able to showcase his presidential bona fides by pulling off the trip without a hitch. But his Beijing-friendly KMT party could lose that additional support if Hou doesn't adequately assert Taiwan's sovereignty in response to China's drills.
China's actions confirm that Beijing plans to primarily wield military force against Taiwan under the DPP, which will continue to impede Beijing's ability to recover its cooperative trade and diplomatic ties with the West. The drills signal that Beijing intends to primarily wield military force for as long as the DPP remains in power in order to pressure Taipei to back down from any sovereignty-affirming moves, like independent interactions with foreign countries. This is partly because Beijing's economic coercion and political influence campaign during the 2016-2020 DPP administration failed to keep the DPP from being reelected in 2020. It's also partly due to Chinese President Xi Jinping's increasingly national security-oriented approach to foreign relations, which prioritizes quashing any threat to a broad range of national security issues (including sovereignty over Taiwan) over economic and diplomatic ties — even if it means exacerbating U.S. tensions and Hou's already weak polling numbers. Beijing's paradigm of needing to retaliate militarily to Taiwan's diplomatic moves (even common ones like visits by presidential candidates to the United States) is also directly contravening China's goal of achieving economic recovery, as the drills stoke fears about business continuity risks among investors and companies, already wary of the mounting security risks of operating in China. If DPP candidate Lai goes on to win Taiwan's January 2024 presidential election, Beijing will likely exacerbate this pattern of reaction, posing greater challenges to China's trade ties and diplomatic relations with the United States and Europe. These deteriorating relations will, in turn, accelerate supply chain decoupling trends as businesses perceive threats to their operations from China's military moves, like the disruptions to shipping lanes from China's Aug. 2022 drills.
• China and the United States are currently trying to secure a meeting later this year between President Xi and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden to help reduce diplomatic tensions. But China's repeated drills are now that much more likely to be a sticking point in any eventual meeting, with Biden feeling the need to denounce them and Xi feeling the need to reiterate that the core of the U.S.-China relationship is Washington's respect for China's view on the Taiwan issue.
• While supply chain decoupling is complex and varies by country, trade between China and the United States is slowly ebbing. Between 2017 and 2022, the share of Chinese goods in U.S. imports by value dropped from 21.6% to 16.6%; the value of U.S. exports to China as a proportion of total U.S. exports also fell from 8.4% to 7.3% during that same time period.
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This Day in U S Military History
1814 – On the 19th of August British Major – General Robert Ross had landed his troops and started marching up the Patuxent River, with Rear – Admiral George Cockburn and a naval division of light vessels in support. On the third day, Commodore Joshua Barney, U.S.N. had to destroy his own flotilla of gunboats to prevent them from being captured; he then withdrew his 400 seamen to defend the road leading from the village of Bladensburg to Washington. Brigadier – General Winder was in charge of the troops here. There were 120 dragoons and about 300 regular infantry as well as 1,500 militia. On August 24th, almost 5,000 additional American militia started to arrive on the battlefield that General Winder had selected to be on the Washington side of the village. The American defensive position looked impressive; they were formed up in two lines on the heights. The advanced U.S. forces occupied a fortified house, and Marine artillery covered the bridge that the British would have to cross. Many of the militia are poorly trained and armed and their officers are lacking leadership skills. The British open the engagement by unleashing their secret weapon, Congreve rockets. Though highly inaccurate (no American was reportedly injured by one) they caused great noise and smoke, creating panic in the militia ranks. Almost as soon as the British infantry started their assault, some militia routed off the field. However some units, like the 5th Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Militia (today the 175th Infantry) and the Hartford Dragoon's fought a delaying action long enough to cover the retreat of other troops. The British entered Washington with no further problem this evening and burned government buildings including the White House and Capital. Commodore Barney and his seamen and Marines attempted to make a real fight of it until ordered by their badly wounded commander to withdraw to avoid being captured. The U.S. cannon took its toll on the advancing British troops and cut large holes in the British lines crossing the bridge. But the British kept on advancing filling in the ranks where soldiers fell. The charging British had 64 killed and 185 wounded while the U.S. forces lost 10 men killed and 12 wounded at what became known as "The Bladenburg Races" After a few hours rest the British formed up and continued on toward Washington
1814 – British forces under General Robert Ross overwhelm American militiamen at the Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland, and march unopposed into Washington, D.C. Most congressmen and officials fled the nation's capital as soon as word came of the American defeat, but President James Madison and his wife, Dolley, escaped just before the invaders arrived. Earlier in the day, President Madison had been present at the Battle of Bladensburg and had at one point actually taken command of one of the few remaining American batteries, thus becoming the first and only president to exercise in actual battle his authority as commander in chief. The British army entered Washington in the late afternoon, and General Ross and British officers dined that night at the deserted White House. Meanwhile, the British troops, ecstatic that they had captured their enemy's capital, began setting the city aflame in revenge for the burning of Canadian government buildings by U.S. troops earlier in the war. The White House, a number of federal buildings, and several private homes were destroyed. The still uncompleted Capitol building was also set on fire, and the House of Representatives and the Library of Congress were gutted before a torrential downpour doused the flames. On August 26, General Ross, realizing his untenable hold on the capital area, ordered a withdrawal from Washington. The next day, President Madison returned to a smoking and charred Washington and vowed to rebuild the city. James Hoban, the original architect of the White House, completed reconstruction of the executive mansion in 1817
1942 – The Battle of the Eastern Solomons. US Task Force 61, commanded by Admiral Fletcher is comprised of the American aircraft carriers Saratoga, Enterprise and Wasp. The Japanese split their forces into two, Admiral Nagumo commanding the Zuikaku and Shokaku and Admiral Hara, the Ryujo. Both forces are attempting to cover the ferrying of supplies to the respective forces on Guadalcanal. American scout planes discover the Ryujo and Admiral Fletcher dispatches a strike force. When the other two Japanese carriers are sighted, he attempts to redirect the attack, but most of his planes do not receive the new orders and proceed to sink the Ryujo. Admiral Nagumo's planes find the USS Enterprise inflicting damage, however planes can still land on the carrier. Both carrier groups disengage at the end of the day without a clear result.
1942 – U.S. forces continue to deliver crushing blows to the Japanese, sinking the aircraft carrier Ryuho in the Battle of the East Solomon Islands. Key to the Americans' success in this battle was the work of coastwatchers, a group of volunteers whose job it is to report on Japanese ship and aircraft movement. The Marines had landed on Guadalcanal, on the Solomon Islands, on August 7. This was the first American offensive maneuver of the war and would deliver the first real defeat to the Japanese. On August 23, coastwatchers, comprised mostly of Australian and New Zealander volunteers, hidden throughout the Solomon and Bismarck islands and protected by anti-Japanese natives, spotted heavy Japanese reinforcements headed for Guadalcanal. The coastwatchers alerted three U.S. carriers that were within 100 miles of Guadalcanal, which then raced to the scene to intercept the Japanese. By the time the Battle of the Eastern Solomons was over, the Japanese lost a light carrier, a destroyer, and a submarine and the Ryuho. The Americans suffered damage to the USS Enterprise, the most decorated carrier of the war; the Enterprise would see action again, though, in the American landings on Okinawa in 1945. As for the coastwatchers, Vice Adm. William F. Halsey said, "The coastwatchers saved Guadalcanal, and Guadalcanal saved the Pacific."
1969 – Company A of the Third Battalion, 196th Light Infantry Brigade refuses the order of its commander, Lieutenant Eugene Schurtz, Jr., to continue an attack that had been launched to reach a downed helicopter shot down in the Que Son valley, 30 miles south of Da Nang. The unit had been in fierce combat for five days against entrenched North Vietnamese forces and had taken heavy casualties. Schurtz called his battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Bacon, and informed him that his men had refused to follow his order to move out because they had "simply had enough" and that they were "broken." The unit eventually moved out when Bacon sent his executive officer and a sergeant to give Schurtz's troops "a pep talk," but when they reached the downed helicopter on August 25, they found all eight men aboard dead. Schurtz was relieved of his command and transferred to another assignment in the division. Neither he nor his men were disciplined. This case of "combat refusal," as the Army described it, was reported widely in U.S. newspapers.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
By virtue of an act of Congress approved 24 August 1921, the Medal of Honor, emblem of highest ideals and virtues is bestowed in the name of the Congress of the United States upon the unknown American, typifying the gallantry and intrepidity, at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, of our beloved heroes who made the supreme sacrifice in the World War. They died in order that others might live (293.8, A.G:O.) (War Department General Orders, No. 59, 13 Dec. 1921, sec. I).
*ANDERSON, RICHARD A.
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company E, 3d Reconnaissance Battalion, 3d Marine Division. Place and date: Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, 24 August 1969. Entered service at: Houston, Tex. Born: 16 April 1948, Washington, D.C. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an assistant team leader with Company E, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy. While conducting a patrol during the early morning hours L/Cpl. Anderson's reconnaissance team came under a heavy volume of automatic weapons and machine gun fire from a numerically superior and well concealed enemy force. Although painfully wounded in both legs and knocked to the ground during the initial moments of the fierce fire fight, L/Cpl. Anderson assumed a prone position and continued to deliver intense suppressive fire in an attempt to repulse the attackers. Moments later he was wounded a second time by an enemy soldier who had approached to within 8 feet of the team's position. Undaunted, he continued to pour a relentless stream of fire at the assaulting unit, even while a companion was treating his leg wounds. Observing an enemy grenade land between himself and the other marine, L/Cpl. Anderson immediately rolled over and covered the lethal weapon with his body, absorbing the full effects of the detonation. By his indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and selfless devotion to duty, L/Cpl. Anderson was instrumental in saving several marines from serious injury or possible death. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 24, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
24 August
1918: Maj William R. Ream became the first flight surgeon to die in an aircraft accident at Chanute Field. (24)
1935: Brig Gen Frank M. Andrews set three world seaplane speed and payload records from Langley Field to Floyd Bennett Field and back in a Martin B-12A bomber with pontoon floats. (24)
1938: The Navy flew the radio-controlled JH-1, the first powered drone target in the U.S., to test the USS Ranger's anti-aircraft batteries. (21)
1940: Boeing received a contract for three B-29 prototypes. (12)
1951: KOREAN WAR. Through 25 August, B-26's claimed over 800 trucks destroyed in the new campaign of night anti-truck operations. (28) General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, CSAF, disclosed the development of atomic tactical weapons for use against armies in the field. (24)
1959: The USAF launched an Atlas-C over a 5,000-mile course. Later, the USAF recovered a data capsule containing movies taken from 700 miles up that showed one-sixth of the earth's surface. (16) (24)
1961: At Edwards AFB, Jacqueline Cochran flew a Northrop T-38 Talon to a world speed record for women, 842.6 miles per hour. (24)
1962: Donald L. Piccard set a FAI record for subclass A-2 balloons (250-400 cubic meters). At Sioux City, Iowa, he flew a Sioux City Sue Raven Industries balloon to 17,747 feet. (9)
1965: A 341 SMW crew from Malmstrom AFB, Mont., launched the 100th Minuteman I test missile from Vandenberg AFB. (8: Aug 90)
1974: Alexander P. de Seversky, airpower advocate and an inventive genius whose life and career followed the evolution of aviation, died in New York at 80. He developed the P-35, the Army Air Corps' first single seat, all-metal pursuit aircraft with retractable landing gear and a closed cockpit. He also developed inflight-refueling techniques.
1978: The 81 TFW, 92 TFS, at RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge received the first three A-10s destined for USAFE. (4)
1979: Full-scale development of the Global Positioning System authorized. (12)
1989: The Voyager 2 Space Probe completed its tour of the solar system by flying within 3,000 miles of Neptune. (20)
1994: HURRICANE JOHN. Through 25 August, as a hurricane approached AMC aircraft evacuated 1,107 military and civilian personnel from Johnston Island, located 740 miles southwest of Honolulu. Six C-141s, 2 DC-8 charters, and 1 C-130 brought everyone to Hickam AFB. Although most evacuees returned to Johnston on commercial flights in early September, an AMC C-141 and a few C-130s returned some residents in late August. (16) (18)
2001: At Grand Forks AFB, contractors imploded Minuteman III missile silo H-22 near Petersburg, N.D. It was the last silo of 450 ICBM silos to be destroyed under the START I agreement. Contractors imploded 14 silos in 1999, 86 in 2000, and 49 in 2001. (21) An EC-18B Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA) made its final AFFTC flight, ending that mission at Edwards AFB. For 30 years, the aircraft recorded and relayed telemetry information from ICBMs and manned spacecraft, both U.S. and foreign. The USAF intended to use the two EC-18Bs in the JSTARS program. (3)
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Seventy-five years ago, on July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed this executive order banning segregation in the Armed Force and ordering full integration of all branches.
Executive Order 9981 stated that "there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." During August, AFHF will celebrate the lives and careers of many notable people of color in aviation history.
Charles McGee was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 7, 1919. His grandfather was formerly enslaved, and his father served as an Army chaplain in World War I and during the Battle of the Bulge in the Second World War. As a child, McGee was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and earned the Eagle Scout award on August 9, 1940.
Enlisting in the US Army on October 26, 1942, in time he became part of the Tuskegee Airmen, having already earned his pilot's wings and graduated from Class 43-F on June 30, 1943. By February 1944, McGee was stationed in Italy with the 302nd Fighter Squadron of the 332d Fighter Group, flying his first mission on Valentine's Day. McGee flew the Bell P-39Q Airacobra, the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, and the North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft, escorting Consolidated B-24 Liberator and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers over Germany, Austria, and the Balkans.
On August 23, 1944, while escorting B-17s over Czechoslovakia, McGee engaged a formation of Luftwaffe fighters and shot down a Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
When the Korean War broke out, he flew P-51 Mustangs again in the 67th Fighter Bomber Squadron, completing 100 missions, and was promoted to major. During the Vietnam War, as a lieutenant colonel, McGee flew 172 combat missions in a McDonnell RF-4 photo-reconnaissance aircraft. During his Southeast Asia combat tour, McGee served as the Squadron Commander of the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS), of the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, which was based at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, in South Vietnam. The 16th TRS flew the RF-4C Phantom II.
McGee retired at the rank of colonel, on January 31, 1973. In a 30-year active service career, McGee achieved a three-war fighter mission total of 409 combat missions, one of the highest by any Air Force fighter pilot. He ended his military career with 6,308 flying hours.
For detailed biography, see link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_McGee_(pilot)
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