To All,
Good Sunday morning November 19, 2023
I hope that you are having a great weekend. No visitors last night
Regards,
Skip
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
November. 19
1813—Capt. David Porter, commander of the man-of-war Essex, claims the Marquesas Islands for the U.S. In the following weeks, he establishes a base to overhaul Essex and builds a fort.
1943—USS Nautilus (SS 168) enters Tarawa lagoon for the first submarine photograph reconnaissance mission. It is later damaged by friendly fire from USS Santa Fe (CL 60) and USS Ringgold (DD 500) off Tarawa because due to the mission, Nautilus presence was unknown to the vessels.
1943—USS Sculpin (SS 191) is damaged by the Japanese and abandoned by her crew. Forty-one Sailors are taken as POWs, 21 of whom are taken on Japanese carrier Chuyo that is later sunk by USS Sailfish (SS 192).
1944—USS Conklin (DE 439) and USS McCoy Reynolds (DE 440) sink the Japanese submarine I-37 100 miles west of Palaus.
1950 – X Corps First Marine Division commander, Major General O.P. Smith moved his units carefully northward toward the Chosin Reservoir.
1969—Navy astronauts Cmdr. Charles Conrad, Jr. and Cmdr. Alan L. Bean become the third and fourth men to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 12 mission.
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This Day in World History
November 19
1620 The Pilgrims sight Cape Cod.
1828 In Vienna, Composer Franz Schubert dies of syphilis at age 31.
1861 Julia Ward Howe writes "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" while visiting Union troops near Washington.
1863 Lincoln delivers the "Gettysburg Address" at the dedication of the National Cemetery at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg.
1885 Bulgarians, led by Stefan Stambolov, repulse a larger Serbian invasion force at Slivinitza.
1873 James Reed and two accomplices rob the Watt Grayson family of $30,000 in the Choctaw Nation.
1897 The Great "City Fire" in London.
1905 100 people drown in the English Channel as the steamer Hilda sinks.
1911 New York receives first Marconi wireless transmission from Italy.
1915 The Allies ask China to join the entente against the Central Powers.
1923 The Oklahoma State Senate ousts Governor Walton for anti-Ku Klux Klan measures.
1926 Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Politburo in the Soviet Union.
1942 Soviet forces take the offensive at Stalingrad.
1949 Prince Ranier III is crowned 30th Monarch of Monaco.
1952 Scandinavian Airlines opens a commercial route from Canada to Europe.
1969 Apollo 12 touches down on the moon.
1973 New York stock market takes sharpest drop in 19 years.
1976 Patty Hearst is released from prison on $1.5 million bail.
1981 U.S. Steel agrees to pay $6.3 million for Marathon Oil.
1985 US President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, meet for the first time.
1985 In the largest civil verdict in US history, Pennzoil wins $10.53 billion judgement against Texaco.
1990 Pop duo Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award after it is learned they did not sing on their award-winning Girl You Know Its True album.
1996 Canada's Lt. Gen. Maurice Baril arrives in Africa to lead a multinational force policing Zaire.
1998 US House of Representatives begins impeachment hearings against President Bill Clinton.
2010 New Zealand suffers its worst mining disaster since 1914 when the first of four explosions occurs at the Pike River Mine; 29 people are killed.
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
: WEEK ONE OF THE COMMANDO HUNT CAMPAIGN… 12-17 November 1968
Skip… For The List for Monday, 13 November 2023… Bear🇺��⚓️🐻
COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)… the air interdiction campaign shifts to Laos… From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 11 February 2019… Week One of 170 weeks of hunting and destroying NVN trucks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Thanks to Micro
To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip
From Vietnam Air Losses site for Sunday November 19
November 19: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1463
I had trouble opening the site so the one time I got through I copied it…skip
Below are the details of the loss you selected from the list of search results:
________________________________________
Date: 19 November 1967
Aircraft type: F-105F Thunderchief
Serial Number: 63-8349
Military Unit: 333 TFS, 355 TFW
Service: USAF
Home Base: Takhli
Name(s):
Maj Gerald C Gustafson (Survived)
Capt Russell F Brownlee (Survived)
________________________________________
If the 18th was a bad day for the US airmen, the 19th was going to be even worse. The day started badly with yet another Wild Weasel (call sign Barracuda) lost during an attack on a SAM site. An Iron Hand flight was attacking a SAM battery near Cat Ngoi, 7 miles west of Hanoi, when Maj Gustafson's aircraft was hit by a missile as it was turning near the target at 9,000 feet. Fortunately the aircraft did not catch fire and Maj Gustafson was able to exit the area and head towards home. Escorted by another F-105F flown by Maj Bruce Stocks, he crossed into Laos and he and his 'Bear' ejected near the village of Sopka, 20 miles west of Sam Neua. Maj Stocks, despite being injured and his aircraft damaged by a near miss by a SAM, flew cover over Gustafson and Brownlee until rescue aircraft arrived and then refuelled from a tanker before landing his badly damaged Thud at Takhli. An Air America helicopter rescued the two airmen. Maj Gustafson continued to complete 101 missions in Southeast Asia but not before he and Capt Brownlee had to eject from another F-105 on 6 January 1968. Maj Stocks was awarded the Air Force Cross and the Korren Kolligian, Jr. Trophy for 1967 for his actions in protecting his two colleagues.
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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
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Servicemembers Killed in the Vietnam War
The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
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A quick one from Micro for the Bubbas
IDF Special Forces recruitment video
See attachment
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THANKS TO INTERESTING FACTS
A couple of sweet ones
The Snickers candy bar was named after one of the Mars family's favorite horses.
While names like Hershey's and 3 Musketeers (which originally included three bars) are fairly straightforward, some candy bar monikers are more elusive. Case in point: What, exactly, is a Snickers? Well, it's actually a "who" — and not a human "who" at that. The candy bar was named after one of the Mars family's favorite horses. Franklin Mars founded Mars, Incorporated (originally known as Mar-O-Bar Co.) in 1911, introducing Snickers in 1930; when it came time to name his product, he did what any pet-lover would do, and immortalized his equine friend as only a candy magnate could. (By some accounts, the horse had passed away shortly before the product's launch.)
As Mars has grown into America's fourth-largest private company, it has retained a dual focus on both candy and pets. M&M's, Twix, and Milky Way are all Mars products, as are Iams, Pedigree, and Royal Canin. If you've ever wondered how M&M's got their name, the story is slightly less interesting — it's simply the last initials of Forrest Mars (Frank's son) and partner-in-candy Bruce Murrie. The company is known for secrecy, with the family itself having been described as a "reclusive dynasty," which means it's a minor miracle that the identity of Snickers the horse was ever revealed in the first place.
Baby Ruth bars weren't named after the baseball player.
Despite how similar their names are, Baby Ruth bears no relation to Babe Ruth. The chocolate bar was actually named after Ruth Cleveland, daughter of President Grover Cleveland — assuming you believe the company's official story, that is. The treat was introduced in 1921, 17 years after Ruth Cleveland's untimely passing from diphtheria at age 12 and 24 years after the former President left office. The Great Bambino, meanwhile, had become the first person to hit 50 home runs in a single season the year before. The Sultan of Swat went so far as to end up in a court battle with the Curtiss Candy Company after he licensed his own name to a rival confectioner, but the 1931 ruling wasn't in his favor. Baby Ruth's connection to America's pastime has only grown since then, and in 2006 it was even named the official candy bar of Major League Baseball for three years.
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Yesterday was the day in 1952 that Captain Royce Williams had one of the greatest if not the greatest dogfights in history
Thanks to Dr. Rich
Like Bob Hoover said .. keep flying it all the way through the crash landing .. which in this case was on a carrier!!
Great story … Thanks Todd !!
Capt E. Royce Williams – The Forgotten Hero
CAPT E. ROYCE WILLIAMS USN, Retired
"The Forgotten Hero of the Forgotten War"
The Korean War has become a footnote in history, the forgotten war between WWII and Vietnam. The involvement of U.S. forces was limited to a NATO "Police Action" to stop the communist expansion into Asia. Still, for the tens of thousands that served and lost their lives in the Korean War, it is anything but forgotten. U.S. Congress never declared war against Korea and the Soviets never officially entered the war. Nevertheless, the United States provided 88% of the United Nation's (UN) military personnel while the Soviet Union secretly supported the North Korean communist intention to overthrow their southern countrymen.
The memories of the Korean War still linger in the hearts of those who have served, including Naval Aviator, Captain E. Royce Williams, USN, Retired. For the first time in history, Soviet pilots secretly flew against NATO and U.S. forces. In an exhausting 35 minute dogfight against 7 Soviet MiGs, LT Williams then, became the only American Aviator to single-handedly shoot down 4 Russian MiGs in a single sortie. A record that most likely will never be broken. His heroic actions were kept classified for nearly fifty years. Post- Cold War, the Russian government confirmed the loss of the 4 MiG-15s and disclosed the names of the four pilots he shot down: Captain Belyakov, Captain Vandalov, Lieutenant Pakhomkin and Lieutenant Tarshinov. This is the account of LT Williams's heroic actions that are yet to be reviewed for the full honor and recognition he earned so many years ago.
On November 18th, 1952, LT Williams participated in a 3 carrier major strike against the Hoeryong industrial complex very near the North Korea-Russian border. Expecting reprisal from the North Koreans, the U.S.S. Oriskany launched a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) into the blustery skies above the Sea of Japan. The Patrol was in the midst of a blizzard, where the cloud cover was at 400 feet and the visibility was terribly low. Division Leader, Lieutenant Claire Elwood and his wingman LTJG John Middletown with Section Leader, LT Royce Williams and his wingman LTJG David Rowlands served as CAP that day. Soon after the CAP was launched, the Combat Information Center (CIC) reported multiple bogeys approaching inbound, 80 miles north of Task Force 77.
The Combat Air Patrol finally broke through the clouds of the howling snowstorm at around 12,000 feet. As they advanced upward, Section Leader, LT Williams spotted seven contrails well above 50,000 feet. The bogeys were quickly identified and reported as MiG-15s. Moments later, the Flight Leader, reported a fuel pump warning light. The CIC ordered LT Elwood and his wingman, LTJG Middleton to return to CAP duty directly above the U.S.S. Oriskany. The defense of Task Force 77 was in the hands of LT Williams who took the Lead and LTJG Rowlands as his wingman. Although, the two F9F-5 Panthers were outnumbered and out classed on maneuverability and acceleration, they boldly continued the pursuit against the 7 MiGs. The MiGs came over them and reversed, presumably heading back to their base at Vladivostok. LT Williams continued to track and climb to 26,000 feet, when suddenly, the MiGs split into two groups to corner the F9Fs. One group of four MiGs came straight in firing from the 10 o'clock position, as the other 3 MiGs circled around to bracket them.
LT Williams turned sharply into the enemy and the 4 MiGs over shot, missing their targets. When they passed, LT Williams pulled a hard left turn and kicked in the rudder to get his sight on the number four MiG. After a short burst of fire, the MiG went down. His wingman, LTJG Rowlands, followed the plane as it dropped out of formation, leaving LT Williams alone against 6 Soviet adversaries. Complete chaos ensued… LT Williams was in the fight of his life, working at every moment to keep the MiGs off his tail. He utilized every Guns Defense possible as he reversed and jinked against the far superior aircraft, attempting to stay clear and keep the MiGs from locking down on his six o'clock position.
1 Down, 6 to Go! LT Williams immediately chased after the three remaining MiGs from the group, trying to maneuver with them. His Panther was no match to the Soviet MiGs far superior speed and rate of climb as they easily zoomed away. One MiG turned around, pointing back at him and quickly disappeared into the bright sun. Williams immediately noticed the other two MiGs had already made their turn and they were coming right at him in a diving attack. LT Williams swiftly turned into them as they fired out of range. As the lead MiG approached 2,000 feet, he quickly broke away to avoid the opposing fire. The other MiG followed right behind the lead, which gave Williams the opportunity to get him into his sights. He fired at the enemy until he disappeared underneath his wings. It was a presumed hit, since Williams didn't have the luxury to follow for confirmation.
5 Left! "Then the Fight was on. They were no longer in formation. They were flying to position themselves to attack me one at a time," Williams recalls. The opposing MiGs were determined to down the sole Grumman Panther. One of the MiGs came back around and LT Williams reversed to put his gun sights on him. As the MiG turned, he was able to fire at him. The blast was so abrupt, Lt. Williams had to maneuver violently to avoid swallowing the exploding MiG parts.
3 Down! "There was a lot of maneuvering, some shooting and mostly dodging going on," remembers Williams. During the 35 minute dog-fight, the MiGs would overshoot and occasionally they did not climb, which gave Williams the opportunity to track and fire at them. While LT Williams was tracking a smoking MiG to finish him off, he looked back and saw another MiG coming in. He put in a lot of rudder and kicked the airplane over to give the opposition a tough shot. LT Williams's luck was finally running out and the MiG hit him with a burst of fire from his 37mm cannon. He was hit in the wing section and accessory section of the Pratt and Whitney Jet engine. The relentless MiG came back around and settled on his tail to ensure the kill. LT Williams had to use both hands on the stick to maneuver properly, because he had lost two of his 3 controls, the ailerons and the rudder. The elevator still worked perfectly, so he could only porpoise to pull up and push over hard, similar to a pitch and tuck maneuver. He could see the bullets fly by him as the attacker shot away at him. Out of ammo and riddled with holes, LT Williams headed back home as he took to the cloud cover and they lost sight of each other in the snow storm.
Carrier Bound, Crash Course: LT Williams came out of the clouds at about 400 feet. At that point, he was flying too low to eject safely and the freezing waters of the Sea of Japan would have taken him within 15 minutes in his immersion suit. As the Panther drew closer for a troubled landing, the destroyers escorting Task Force 77, opened friendly fire on LT Williams mistaking him for an enemy aircraft. "Fortunately, I was low enough that they didn't have a chance to really aim, so nobody hit me," Williams explained. His Panther would stall below 170 knots (normal carrier approach speed is at 120 knots) which forced him to come in at 200 miles an hour for an inevitable crash landing. His immediate focus was to keep control of the aircraft and use alternate backup systems to lower the landing gear and tail hook. The U.S.S. Oriskany's Commanding Officer, Captain Courtney Shands was alerted and adjusted the carrier away from the wind to try and compensate for the F9F's out-of-control speed and inability to maneuver properly. Incredibly, LT Williams was able to land safely engaging the number 3 wire, which was much attributed to the sturdy construction of the Grumman aircraft. Miraculously, LT Williams was unscathed and confided, "I had God on my side."
On the flight deck, the plane captain rushed to congratulate the Lieutenant and the badly damaged aircraft became an immediate specimen of interest. 263 perforations were circled and counted, ranging from a foot wide to minor cuts in the fuselage. The Grumman F9F-5 Panther that fought so valiantly was irrevocably damaged and they pushed it over the side into the ocean, to it's final resting place.
LT Williams headed to the Ready Room for debriefing, however the Intelligence Officer delayed the investigation, because he wanted to wait for the Flight Leader. In the meantime, the tension grew higher due to pressure from Washington, awaiting a full report on the incident. "They already knew there was some sort of rumble with the Soviets and they wanted the answers, right now!" Williams affirmed. The Intelligence Officer caved to Washington and sent out a "phony" report based upon the very limited information he received and the lack of details and understanding of the engagement. Williams was credited with a kill and a probable-damaged, LTJG Middleton was credited with a kill and William's wingman, Dave Rowlands was given a probable.
A week later, the U.S.S. Oriskany arrived in Yokosuka, Japan where LT Williams was ordered to see Vice Admiral Robert P. Briscoe, Commander Naval Forces Far East. Admiral Briscoe informed the Lieutenant that the United States has a new capability called the NSA, National Security Agency. They were covertly aboard the U.S.S. Helena, right off Vladivostok on their first mission. The NSA told Admiral Briscoe to tell that young man that he got at least three. They were able to follow the MiGs from take-off until the remnant MiGs came back. Admiral Briscoe warned Williams to never speak of the incident for fear of escalating the Korean conflict into World War III.
A month later, Admiral J.J. Clark and LT Williams met with President-elect Eisenhower in Seoul, Korea. Eisenhower specifically requested a debriefing with LT Williams to discuss "our planes versus theirs." The bold pilot found himself surrounded by Generals Omar Bradley and Mark Clark, Admiral Arthur Radford, the Secretary of Defense and many other dignitaries. Eisenhower took Williams by the elbow and led him to a nice, comfortable, over-stuffed chair. Then he sat at the edge of the chair and wrapped his arm around the young hero. "Well, young man, before we get down to business, don't you think we ought to have drink? Don't you think?" Eisenhower encouraged. "Yes, Sir," Williams agreed. "Well, we have bourbon and scotch, water and soda. My son John is the bartender. What would you like?" I said, "Bourbon and water, please." The President nudged, "We have awfully good scotch son." "Well Sir, I prefer bourbon and water." The President insisted, "Young man, we have great, great scotch." "Well Sir, the truth is I prefer bourbon and water." "Lieutenant! We've got the world's finest scotch," the President demanded. Williams said, "Mr. President, I drink bourbon and water." The President reluctantly conceded and turned to his son, "John, give him a bourbon and water." "Needless to say, I learned quickly from my experience. I should have taken the scotch. So, in honor of Ike, the next time I had the opportunity, I ordered scotch and it prevails to this day," Williams admitted with a great big grin.
Captain E. Royce Williams, USN Retired, flew over 220 missions mainly in Korea and Vietnam. He served our country for over thirty years and retired in 1980. Williams has not yet received the full recognition for his acts of valor that he gave in defense of our great nation over 63 years ago. We encourage all readers to reach out to our local politicians for support and join our plea for Captain Williams to be re-reviewed for recognition for his heroic acts that were above and beyond the call of duty on November 18th, 1952.
91 year old, Captain Royce Williams is featured in the upcoming series 'Heroes in History,' a collection of veteran stories, told by the heroes who lived through them…before they are lost forever. Please enjoy Captain Williams's amazing story
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Thanks to Brett
STRATFOR SNAPSHOTS
Pageantry vs. Progress: Reviewing the Biden-Xi Meeting
Nov 17, 2023
U.S. President Joe Biden walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15, 2023.
(BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
While U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping reached modest agreements during their Nov. 15 meeting, conflicting strategic visions will impede not only the implementation of these agreements but also long-term efforts to ease U.S.-China competition, perpetuating risks of additional trade restrictions and growing military tensions in Asia's maritime space. During their four-hour meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Biden and Xi agreed to resume military-to-military dialogues, as well as direct communication lines between the two presidents. The two leaders also pledged to keep communication lines open on all manner of economic and security issues in the future, including limiting the security threats posed by using artificial intelligence in military applications, especially for nuclear weapons. Additionally, they secured cooperation on fentanyl trafficking interdiction, with Xi pledging to crack down on supplies of drug precursors and pill presses coming out of China. Lastly, Biden and Xi pledged to increase the number of flights between China and the United States and deepen their countries' cultural and educational ties. Both sides reiterated preexisting stances on trade disputes, economic competition, human rights abuses, the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, and the fate of Taiwan, but they did not reach any new agreements on these matters specifically.
• U.S. and Chinese climate envoys released an agreement on climate cooperation on Nov. 15, as a conclusion to their Nov. 4-8 talks prior to APEC, in which they pledged to work together on mitigating methane emissions, forest loss and plastic pollution. Both sides also agreed to add emissions reduction goals for nitrogen oxide, methane and other non-carbon-dioxide pollutants to their 2035 climate goals. They agreed to cooperate on at least five major carbon capture, utilization and storage projects by 2030 as well.
• Outside of bilateral talks, Washington tried to assign new climate and inclusivity requirements on trade and investment among APEC partners, known as the San Francisco Principles. China was the only APEC member that didn't agree to these principles, so no agreement was reached.
• The members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) met at the APEC summit and expressed their openness to admitting new members, though they did not explicitly mention China or Taiwan, both of which have applied for membership to the Japan-led and U.S.-originated trade grouping.
• On the night of Nov. 15, Xi also gave a speech to a room of U.S. businesses in which he stumped for China's views on world affairs, claiming China would never seek hegemony, Cold War or zero-sum games, and asserted that ''the historical trend of peaceful coexistence between China and the United States will not change.''
The agreements reached during the Biden-Xi meeting on fentanyl, military-to-military communications and the climate highlight a mutual desire for modest cooperation, but they are also ill-fated due to troubles with implementation and deep-seated mistrust. The Biden-Xi talks were driven partly by mutual concern about the rapid deterioration of U.S.-China ties following former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's August 2022 visit to Taiwan. But the meeting was also driven by the recent proliferation of trade and technology restrictions between the two countries, as well as a joint desire to keep their escalating tensions from triggering an outright military conflict. As a result of the downturn in U.S.-China relations, bilateral cooperation had fallen to very low levels up — until about three months ago, when both sides started trying to revive all manner of economic and security working groups in the leadup to APEC. Against this backdrop, the new agreements signed during the Biden-Xi meeting are noteworthy in their potential to improve cooperation and communication between the two countries, but each deal will face implementation challenges. The enforcement of the fentanyl deal, in particular, will be tough, because while China could pursue individual entities trafficking in precursors, it will probably not crack down on the fentanyl trade as a whole, especially considering it is a cash cow for China's nascent pharmaceutical companies — an emerging strategic industry that Beijing wants to nurture to become globally competitive. The military-to-military communications deal, meanwhile, will reduce the extent to which maritime and aerial encounters can escalate to shots fired. However, China has a long history (even during amicable times with Washington) of not picking up the phone, literally, when U.S. military leaders attempt to contact China directly about an exigent crisis. Moreover, while high-level military dialogues (e.g. between defense ministers) will help reduce misunderstanding between both sides, the United States and China's contradicting positions on all manner of security issues — from Israel and Ukraine to Taiwan and the South China Sea — will limit the fruitfulness of such talks. The U.S.-China climate agreement signed at APEC is also notable given the extent of bilateral cooperation pledged, as China has generally pursued its own path toward decarbonization and the green transition, and has bucked at U.S. and European efforts to sign China onto global pledges that would limit its economic freedom of movement. But the agreement's implementation, once again, will be key to watch, especially when new geopolitical controversies arise and China considers cutting climate (and defense) talks as a coercive tool against Washington.
U.S.-China strategic competition will impede efforts by both sides to build upon the progress they made at the APEC summit, maintaining the risk of additional economic restrictions, as well as the potential for military conflict in various theaters, including Taiwan. Despite the pageantry of the APEC summit and Biden and Xi's expressed optimism about the resulting U.S.-China agreements, juxtaposed strategic outlooks will pit Washington and Beijing against each other for the foreseeable future and limit progress on improving military-to-military communication, cooperation on the fentanyl trade and cooperation on climate issues, among many other goals. The United States still views China as the single largest strategic challenge to U.S. economic and military dominance, and wants to pursue limited economic competition with Beijing and expand military partnerships with China's neighbors as part of a two-pronged approach to preserving an expanded definition of U.S. national security. Beijing, on the other hand, sees the United States as a declining power intent on slowing China's rise with a zero-sum, Cold War mentality, and seeks to return to the days before Washington's pivot to Asia, in which both sides largely set aside their differences for the sake of mutual economic gain. In addition to these opposing strategic views, the United States and China also have opposing geopolitical goals, including regarding dominance in high tech, Taiwan's sovereignty, and expanding political room for authoritarian versus democratic regimes. These differences will, in turn, continue to impede U.S.-China efforts to curb the proliferation of economic risks presented by the other (such as trade restrictions and unfair treatment of businesses), as well as proliferate the low-level risk of military conflict (including around Taiwan or in the South China Sea). Though the Biden-XI meeting at APEC and follow-up meetings will push for progress on minor issues of cooperation, implementation will be crippled by mistrust and misalignment of economic goals. Furthermore, if former U.S. President Donald Trump is re-elected in 2024, his return to the White House would risk sullying any U.S.-China agreements made under Biden.
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This Day in U S Military History…..November 19
1620 – The Pilgrims reached Cape Cod. Mariner Bartholomew Gosnold (1572-1607) sailed the New England coast in 1602, naming things as he went. He gave the name 'Cape Cod' to the sandy, 105km/65mi-long peninsula that juts eastward from mainland Massachusetts into the Atlantic. When the Pilgrims first set foot in the New World in November 1620, it was at the site of Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod. They rested only long enough to draw up rules of governance (the Mayflower Compact) before setting sail westward in search of a more congenial place for their settlement, which they found at Plymouth. Later settlers stayed on the Cape, founding fishing villages along the coasts. The fishing industry drew boat builders and salt makers. Soon there were farmers working the cranberry bogs as well, and whaling ships bringing home rich cargoes of oil and whalebone.
1863 – President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most famous speeches in American history at the dedication of the military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Using just 272 words, Lincoln brilliantly and movingly articulated the meaning of the conflict for a war-weary public. For some time, Lincoln had been planning to make a public statement on the significance of the war and the struggle against slavery. In early November, he received an invitation to speak at the dedication of part of the Gettysburg battlefield, which was being transformed into a cemetery for the soldiers who had died in battle there from July 1 to 3, 1863. A popular myth suggests that Lincoln hastily scribbled his speech on the back of an envelope during his trip to Gettysburg, but he had actually begun crafting his words well before the trip. At the dedication, the crowd listened for two hours to Edward Everett before Lincoln approached the podium. His address lasted just two minutes, and many in the audience were still making themselves comfortable when he finished. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met here on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled, here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
1969 – Navy astronauts CDR Charles Conrad Jr. and CDR Alan L. Bean are 3rd and 4th men to walk on the moon. They were part of Apollo 12 mission. CDR Richard F. Gordon, Jr., the Command Module Pilot, remained in lunar orbit. During the mission lasting 19 days, 4 hours, and 36 minutes, the astronauts recovered 243 lbs of lunar material. Recovery by HS-4 helicopters from USS Hornet (CVS-12). Conrad not a tremendously tall person; the one-meter jump down from the bottom rung of the ladder was a bit intimidating, but now it gave him a chance to set the tone for the mission. The time for historic phrases had past; now it was time to have fun. "Whoopie!" he said as he made the plunge. "Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me." Bean soon joined Conrad on the surface and they got busy deploying the scientific gear. As on Apollo 11, there was a TV camera, a seismometer, and a laser reflector. And they also had a more-sophisticated solar-wind analyzer and a number of other physics packages that made up the ALSEP (Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package) that had gotten bumped off Apollo 11. Most of the equipment, together with a central power station and transmitter, was stowed in two compact packages tucked away in the Descent Stage. Bean lifted them down with a pulley and attached them to the ends of a carrying bar – which would double as a radio antenna mast – in dumbbell fashion. The complete ALSEP weighed 250 pounds on Earth, but only about 40 pounds on the Moon, and Bean had no particular trouble hauling the load to the deployment site about one hundred fifty meters west of the LM. The two experiment packages tended to bounce up and down as he walked and that made gripping the bar a little difficult; but, generally, he and Conrad had very few problems with this first major set of tasks.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*MILLER, ANDREW
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company G, 377th Infantry, 95th Infantry Division. Place and date: From Woippy, France, through Metz to Kerprich Hemmersdorf, Germany, 1629 November 1944. Entered service at: Two Rivers, Wis. Birth: Manitowoc, Wis. G.O. No.: 74, 1 September 1945. Citation: For performing a series of heroic deeds from 1629 November 1944, during his company's relentless drive from Woippy, France, through Metz to Kerprich Hemmersdorf, Germany. As he led a rifle squad on 16 November at Woippy, a crossfire from enemy machineguns pinned down his unit. Ordering his men to remain under cover, he went forward alone, entered a building housing 1 of the guns and forced S Germans to surrender at bayonet point. He then took the second gun single-handedly by hurling grenades into the enemy position, killing 2, wounding 3 more, and taking 2 additional prisoners. At the outskirts of Metz the next day, when his platoon, confused by heavy explosions and the withdrawal of friendly tanks, retired, he fearlessly remained behind armed with an automatic rifle and exchanged bursts with a German machinegun until he silenced the enemy weapon. His quick action in covering his comrades gave the platoon time to regroup and carry on the fight. On 19 November S/Sgt. Miller led an attack on large enemy barracks. Covered by his squad, he crawled to a barracks window, climbed in and captured 6 riflemen occupying the room. His men, and then the entire company, followed through the window, scoured the building, and took 75 prisoners. S/Sgt. Miller volunteered, with 3 comrades, to capture Gestapo officers who were preventing the surrender of German troops in another building. He ran a gauntlet of machinegun fire and was lifted through a window. Inside, he found himself covered by a machine pistol, but he persuaded the 4 Gestapo agents confronting him to surrender. Early the next morning, when strong hostile forces punished his company with heavy fire, S/Sgt. Miller assumed the task of destroying a well-placed machinegun. He was knocked down by a rifle grenade as he climbed an open stairway in a house, but pressed on with a bazooka to find an advantageous spot from which to launch his rocket. He discovered that he could fire only from the roof, a position where he would draw tremendous enemy fire. Facing the risk, he moved into the open, coolly took aim and scored a direct hit on the hostile emplacement, wreaking such havoc that the enemy troops became completely demoralized and began surrendering by the score. The following day, in Metz, he captured 12 more prisoners and silenced an enemy machinegun after volunteering for a hazardous mission in advance of his company's position. On 29 November, as Company G climbed a hill overlooking Kerprich Hemmersdorf, enemy fire pinned the unit to the ground. S/Sgt. Miller, on his own initiative, pressed ahead with his squad past the company's leading element to meet the surprise resistance. His men stood up and advanced deliberately, firing as they went. Inspired by S/Sgt. Miller's leadership, the platoon followed, and then another platoon arose and grimly closed with the Germans. The enemy action was smothered, but at the cost of S/Sgt. Miller's life. His tenacious devotion to the attack, his gallant choice to expose himself to enemy action rather than endanger his men, his limitless bravery, assured the success of Company G.
*RIVERS, RUBEN
Citation: For extraordinary heroism in action during the 15-19 November 1944, toward Guebling, France. Though severely wounded in the leg, Sergeant Rivers refused medical treatment and evacuation, took command of another tank, and advanced with his company in Guebling the next day. Repeatedly refusing evacuation, Sergeant Rivers continued to direct his tank's fire at enemy positions through the morning of 19 November 1944. At dawn, Company A's tanks began to advance towards Bougaktroff, but were stopped by enemy fire. Sergeant Rivers, joined by another tank, opened fire on the enemy tanks, covering company A as they withdrew. While doing so, Sergeant River's tank was hit, killing him and wounding the crew. Staff Sergeant Rivers' fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his unit and exemplify the highest traditions of military service.
*BELCHER, TED
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Plei Djerang, Republic of Vietnam, 19 November 1966. Entered service at: Huntington, W . Va. Born: 21 July 1924, Accoville, W . Va. Citation: Distinguishing himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life. Sgt. Belcher's unit was engaged in a search and destroy mission with Company B, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, the Battalion Reconnaissance Platoon and a special forces company of civilian irregular defense group personnel. As a squad leader of the 2d Platoon of Company C, Sgt. Belcher was leading his men when they encountered a bunker complex. The reconnaissance platoon, located a few hundred meters northwest of Company C, received a heavy volume of fire from well camouflaged snipers. As the 2d Platoon moved forward to assist the unit under attack, Sgt. Belcher and his squad, advancing only a short distance through the dense jungle terrain, met heavy and accurate automatic weapons and sniper fire. Sgt. Belcher and his squad were momentarily stopped by the deadly volume of enemy fire. He quickly gave the order to return fire and resume the advance toward the enemy. As he moved up with his men, a hand grenade landed in the midst of the sergeant's squad. Instantly realizing the immediate danger to his men, Sgt. Belcher, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his safety, lunged forward, covering the grenade with his body. Absorbing the grenade blast at the cost of his life, he saved his comrades from becoming casualties. Sgt. Belcher's profound concern for his fellow soldiers, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
*WATTERS, CHARLES JOSEPH
Rank and organization: Chaplain (Maj.), U .S. Army, Company A, 173d Support Battalion, 173d Airborne Brigade. Place and date: Near Dak To Province, Republic of Vietnam, 19 November 1967. Entered service at: Fort Dix, N.J. Born: 17 January 1927, Jersey City, N.J. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Chaplain Watters distinguished himself during an assault in the vicinity of Dak To. Chaplain Watters was moving with one of the companies when it engaged a heavily armed enemy battalion. As the battle raged and the casualties mounted, Chaplain Watters, with complete disregard for his safety, rushed forward to the line of contact. Unarmed and completely exposed, he moved among, as well as in front of the advancing troops, giving aid to the wounded, assisting in their evacuation, giving words of encouragement, and administering the last rites to the dying. When a wounded paratrooper was standing in shock in front of the assaulting forces, Chaplain Watters ran forward, picked the man up on his shoulders and carried him to safety. As the troopers battled to the first enemy entrenchment, Chaplain Watters ran through the intense enemy fire to the front of the entrenchment to aid a fallen comrade. A short time later, the paratroopers pulled back in preparation for a second assault. Chaplain Watters exposed himself to both friendly and enemy fire between the 2 forces in order to recover 2 wounded soldiers. Later, when the battalion was forced to pull back into a perimeter, Chaplain Watters noticed that several wounded soldiers were Lying outside the newly formed perimeter. Without hesitation and ignoring attempts to restrain him, Chaplain Watters left the perimeter three times in the face of small arms, automatic weapons, and mortar fire to carry and to assist the injured troopers to safety. Satisfied that all of the wounded were inside the perimeter, he began aiding the medics–applying field bandages to open wounds, obtaining and serving food and water, giving spiritual and mental strength and comfort. During his ministering, he moved out to the perimeter from position to position redistributing food and water, and tending to the needs of his men. Chaplain Watters was giving aid to the wounded when he himself was mortally wounded. Chaplain Watters' unyielding perseverance and selfless devotion to his comrades was in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for November 19, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
19 November
1915: First squadron cross-country flight of the Army's Aviation Section of the Signal Corps undertaken by six Curtiss JN-3s of the 1st Aero Squadron. They flew 439 miles from Fort Sill to Fort Sam Houston.
1932: National monument to Wilbur and Orville Wright dedicated near Kitty Hawk. (24)
1945: PACUSAN DREAMBOAT. Through 20 November, Col Clarence S. Irvine and Lt Col G. R. Stanley flew the Pacusan Dreamboat B-29 to a nonstop, nonrefueled distance record of 7,916 miles by flying from Guam to Washington DC in 35 hours 5 minutes. (9) (24)
1950: KOREAN WAR. In the first massed light bomber attack, 50 B-26s from Japan dropped incendiary bombs on Musan, N. Korea, on the Tumen River border with China. The attack destroyed 75 percent of the town's barracks area. (28)
1952: KOREAN WAR. The 49th and 58th Fighter-Bomber Wings, using 179 aircraft in two separate strikes, attacked a troop and supply concentration at Kanggye. (28) Capt James Slade Nash, flying a North American F-86D Sabre, set a FAI speed record of 698.505 MPH at Salton Sea. (9) (24)
1957: Maj Gen Donald Keirn selected to lead the ANP (aircraft nuclear powered) project, an integrated Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and DoD atomic project. (24)
1961: Through 20 November, Mrs. Constance Wolf in her 363.99-mile flight from Texas to near Boley, Okla., set 15 world records for women balloonists, including an endurance record of 40 hours 13 minutes and an altitude record of 13,000 feet. (24)
1964: SECDEF Robert McNamara announced that all first generation missiles would be phased out by June 1965 under Project Added Effort. (1)
1969: APOLLO XII/SECOND MOON LANDING. Astronauts Charles (Pete) Conrad, Jr., and Alan L. Bean, flew the module to the surface and landed at the Ocean of Storms about 600 feet from Surveyor III. (26) (See 14 November for full details).
1978: JONESTOWN SUICIDES. After murdering Cong. Leo J. Ryan and four others, members of Jim Jones' Peoples Temple Church committed mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. Answering a State Department request, on 28 November MAC sent a C-130 and two C-141s with graves registration teams, medics, and cargo to Georgetown, Guyana. Three ARRS HH-53s then flew 911 bodies on 30 sorties from Jonestown to Georgetown, where 9 C-141s flew the bodies to a mortuary at Dover AFB. Altogether, MAC flew 59 C-141 and C-130 support missions through 22 December in response to this tragedy. (2) (21)
1980: USAFE completed the conversion of its tactical fighter squadrons to F-15C/D models. (16)
1984: Two MAC C-141s delivered six motor vehicles and small arms ammunition to the US Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, after drug dealers threatened the safety of American personnel in Colombia. (16)
1997: Operation PHOENIX SCORPION I. To augment Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, the US deployed additional forces to Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean to answer Iraq's continued intransigence over UN inspections of weapons of mass destruction sites. Over the Pacific, AMC established an air bridge and airlift support to deploy B-52s and KC-10s to Diego Garcia. Over the Atlantic, AMC provided airlift and refueling support to deliver an Air Expeditionary Force with F-15s, F-16s, B-1s, and KC-135s to Shaikh Isa, Bahrain, a partial Patriot battery to Shaikh Isa, and F-117s to Al Jabar, Kuwait. Iraq's apparent willingness to resume the inspection program ended the deployment on 24 November and within days most forces had returned home. To close the deployment, AMC flew 51 airlift and 208 tanker missions, delivering over 3,000 short tons of cargo and 7.4 million pounds of fuel. Reserve C-5, C-141, and KC-10 units and personnel supported the Phoenix Scorpion buildup by flying 82 sorties and 529.6 hours. The reserve units also provided backfill support to active duty forces, flying an additional 130 sorties and 530.7 hours. (22) (33)
1998: NASA Dryden test pilot James L. Barrilleaux flew a Lockheed Martin ER-2 (looks like a modified U-2) to an altitude of 20,479 meters (90,096 ft) above Edwards AFB, establishing a new official world altitude record for medium weight aircraft in horizontal flight without payload. (3)
2007: WAR ON TERRORISM. Air Mobility Command passed a major milestone when one of its aircraft flew the command's one millionth sortie since 11 September 2001. A C-17 mission flown from McChord AFB, Wash., to Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, flew the landmark flight. (AMC Historical Highlights, 2007)
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