To All,
Good Wednesday morning December 27.
As a reminder A memorial and celebration of life will be held for Cdr. Joseph Harold Zahala USN RET starting at the Miramar National Cemetery this Friday starting promptly at 2:30 at 5795 Nobel Dr. San Diego CA.
It will be followed by a gathering at the MCAS Officers Club
We look forward to many of you attending There are a lot of "Crash" stories to relate.
Regards,
Skip
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
December. 27
1862—During the Civil War, the ironclad river gunboat Baron De Kalb returns after a five-day Yazoo River mission, where the gunboat burns trapped steamers, captures and destroys large quantities of enemy equipment while also taking several prisoners. For "distinguished actions during this mission," five men receive the Navy Medal of Honor.
1942—The minelayers, USS Keokuk (CM 8), USS Salem (CM 11), and USS Weehawken (CM 12) begin mining approaches to Casablanca, French Morocco, which lasts two days.
1943—USS Flying Fish (SS 229) sinks the Japanese fleet tanker Kyuei Maru in the South China Sea west of Luzon Strait. Also on this date, USS Ray (SS 271) sinks the Japanese fleet tanker Kyoko Maru (ex-Dutch Semiramis) west of the Celebes.
1944—Task Group 94.9, commanded by Rear Adm. Allan E. Smith, bombards Japanese installations on Iwo Jima. USS Dunlap (DD 384), USS Fanning (DD 385), and USS Cummings (DD 365) sink Japanese fast transport T.7 and landing ship T.132.
1990—Lt. Cmdr. Darlene Iskra, the first female commanding officer of a U.S. Navy warship, reports for duty on board USS Opportune (ARS 41), then at Naples, Italy, serving until 1993.
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Today in World History December 27
1512 The laws of Burgos give New World natives legal protection against abuse and authorize Negro slavery.
1831 HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board, departs from Plymouth. It will eventually visit the Galapagos Islands where Darwin will form his theories on evolution.
1862 Union General William Rosecrans' army begins moving slowly toward Murfreesboro, Tennessee, from Nashville.
1913 Charles Moyer, president of the Miners Union, is shot in the back and dragged through the streets of Chicago.
1915 In Ohio, iron and steel workers go on strike for an eight-hour day and higher wages.
1932 Radio City Music Hall opens.
1933 Josef Stalin calls tensions with Japan a grave danger.
1939 A series of vicious earthquakes take 11,000 lives in Turkey.
1941 Japanese bombers attack Manila, despite its claim as an open city.
1944 General George S. Patton's Third Army, spearheaded by the 4th Armored Division, relieves the surrounded city of Bastogne in Belgium.
1945 The International Monetary Fund and the Bank for Reconstruction and Development are created.
1947 The new Italian constitution is promulgated in Rome.
1950 The United States and Spain resume relations for the first time since the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
1956 Segregation on buses in Tallahassee, Florida, is outlawed.
1968 The United States agrees to sell F-4 Phantom jets to Israel.
1979 President Hafizullah Amin of Afghanistan is ousted and murdered in a coup backed by the Soviet Union, beginning a war that will last more than 10 years.
1983 President Reagan takes all responsibility for the lack of security in Beirut that allowed a terrorist on a suicide mission to kill 241 Marines.
1984 Four Polish officers are tried for the slaying of Reverend Jerzy Popieluszko.
1985 Palestinian guerrillas kill 18 people at airports in Rome and Vienna.
1996 Taliban forces retake strategic Bagram Airfield during Afghan civil war.
2001 China receives permanent normal trade relations with the US.
2004 Radiation reaches Earth from the brightest extrasolar event ever witnessed, an explosion of magnetar SGR 1806-20.
2007 Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto assassinated.
2007 After Mwai Kibaki is declared the winner of Kenya's presidential elections, rioting begins in Mombasa, precipitating an economic, humanitarian and political crisis.
1968 Apollo 8 returns to Earth »
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Skip… For The List for Monday, 25 December 2023 through Sunday, 7 January 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT I (1968-1972)… Weeks 7 & 8…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for December 1968…
Christmas Season 1968: historic events, painful losses and heroic sacrifice…
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 "Wednesday 27 December
December 27: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1514
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.
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
(This site was sent by a friend last week and I forgot to forward. The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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FROM: Joe C.
SUBJ: NINTH NIGHT OF OPERATION LINEBACKER II
Prior to the launch of the night missions an F-4E was lost in the search for the F-111 crew that had been shot down on December 22nd. Both pilots ejected but were captured and became POWs.
Later, a Marine A-6A Intruder disappeared during a coastal road recce mission. Both aviators were killed.
Two B-52Ds were lost during the ninth night's operations. The first was Ash 02 which had 15 SAMs fired at it. Despite severe injuries to himself and all of his crew being wounded Captain Mize regained control of the aircraft with no engines operating on the left wing. Finally, with all systems failing and he ordered ejection 15 miles from Nakhon Phanom but had to wait to eject himself until Lt. Robinson bailed out manually. Captain Mize was awarded the Air Force Cross. The co-pilot on this crew was Captain Terence Gruters whose brother Guy was already a POW captured in late 1967. All six crewmembers of Ash 02 were rescued by USAF SAR choppers. Hooray!
The second B-52 did not fare so well. Cobalt 01 was hit by a SAM at 25,000 feet 15 miles NE of Hanoi. All crew were injured to one extent or another by the blast. Of the six crew, four became POWs; two were killed.
Following the last B-52 loss of LB II an F-4E was lost to a MiG-21 Atoll missile in the only air-to-air night combat of the war. This was also the last AF aircraft shot down by a MiG during the Vietnam War.
The night's losses were:
4 KIA
6 POWs
Bill Wilson adds:
Don't forget the Jolly Green that was shot down trying to rescue me on the 27th. Fortunately all the crew survived when the helo landed in Laos and was picked up by the "high" Jolly on that mission.
Another toast tonight....
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Thanks to DR
Sound of Freedom
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7599146/
Last night when I logged into Prime Video (an Amazon outlet) I discovered that the drama "Sound of Freedom" was being broadcast for the 1st time to my knowledge.
"Sound of Freedom", based on the incredible true story, shines a light on even the darkest of places. After rescuing a young boy from ruthless child-traffickers, a federal agent learns that the boy's sister is still a captive and decides to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to free her from a fate worse than death.—Angel Studios
I attended its premier showing at a local theater in Mira Mesa (S.D.) this past July.
It was then, and remains today, one of the most eye opening commercial movies I've ever watched.
I highly recommend it to all.
DR "handler"
The lead role is played by Jim Caviezel one of my favorite actors….skip
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As I said to Dr.Rich when I thanked him for these this morning
Dr Rich. These bring back so many memories of riding in the back seat of a series of Chevys from 49 to 55 back and forth across the USA with no A/C and an AM radio and two younger sisters.
Thanks to Boysie ...
Burma Shave Sign History
For those who never saw any of the Burma Shave signs, here is a quick lesson in our history of the 1930's, 40's, and 50's. Before there were interstates when everyone had to drive on 2 lane roads, Burma Shave signs were posted all over the countryside in farmers' fields. They were small red signs with white letters. Five signs, about 100 feet apart, each one containing 1 line of a 4 line couplet and the obligatory 5th sign advertising Burma Shave, a popular shaving cream.
A CAR,
A CURVE
HE KISSED THE MISS
AND MISSED THE CURVE.
Burma Shave
DON'T STICK YOUR ELBOW
OUT SO FAR
IT MAY GO HOME
IN ANOTHER CAR.
Burma Shave
TRAINS DON'T WANDER
ALL OVER THE MAP
'CAUSE NOBODY SITS
IN THE ENGINEER'S LAP.
Burma Shave
SHE KISSED THE HAIRBRUSH
BY MISTAKE
SHE THOUGHT IT WAS
HER HUSBAND JAKE.
Burma Shave
DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD
TO GAIN A MINUTE
YOU NEED YOUR HEAD
YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT.
Burma Shave
DROVE TOO LONG
DRIVER SNOOZING
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
IS NOT AMUSING.
Burma Shave
BROTHER SPEEDER
LET'S REHEARSE
ALL TOGETHER
GOOD MORNING NURSE
Burma Shave
CAUTIOUS RIDER
TO HER RECKLESS DEAR
LET'S HAVE LESS BULL
AND A LITTLE MORE STEER.
Burma Shave
SPEED WAS HIGH
WEATHER WAS NOT
TIRES WERE THIN
X MARKS THE SPOT.
Burma Shave
THE MIDNIGHT RIDE
OF PAUL FOR BEER
LED TO A WARMER
HEMISPHERE.
Burma Shave
AROUND THE CURVE
LICKETY-SPLIT
BEAUTIFUL CAR
WASN'T IT?
Burma Shave
NO MATTER THE PRICE
NO MATTER HOW NEW
THE BEST SAFETY DEVICE
IN THE CAR IS YOU.
Burma Shave
AT INTERSECTIONS
LOOK EACH WAY
A HARP SOUNDS NICE
BUT IT'S HARD TO PLAY.
Burma Shave
BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL
EYES ON THE ROAD
THAT'S THE SKILLFUL
DRIVER'S CODE.
Burma Shave
THE ONE WHO DRIVES
WHEN HE'S BEEN DRINKING
DEPENDS ON YOU
TO DO HIS THINKING.
Burma Shave
CAR IN DITCH
DRIVER IN TREE
THE MOON WAS FULL
AND SO WAS HE.
Burma Shave
PASSING SCHOOL ZONE
TAKE IT SLOW
LET OUR LITTLE
SHAVERS GROW.
Burma Shave
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
The Easter Island "heads" have bodies buried in the ground.
There's more to the Easter Island "heads" than you realize
Adding to the rich legacy of Easter Island, archaeologists have uncovered full bodies underneath each structure. (But breathe easy: The bodies, like the heads, are made out of stone.) Known as moai, the figures were built by the Indigenous Rapa Nui people between 1100 and 1600 CE, but as time took its toll, the statues' lower halves became increasingly hidden by sediment and rock. Located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, Easter Island is one of the most isolated places in the world, and managed to escape colonization until the first European explorer arrived in 1722. The island itself was formed by three extinct volcanoes, which explains why the moai are carved from volcanic stone. The statues were built to temporarily contain the spirits of Rapa Nui chiefs, who were believed to become divine after death. The structures also sit on stone platforms called ahu, and some moai are adorned with circular red stones (pukao) that sit on their heads and represent topknots of hair. Excavationists have also found cremated and buried human remains at some ahu, suggesting they were a place of Rapa Nui death rituals.The moai bodies were initially discovered by archaeologists in 1914, and in 2010, the Easter Island Statue Project began excavating two of the bodies. Since Easter Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the moai are protected from humans, though the monoliths still battle erosion, rising sea levels, and the effects of forest fires.
A new moai was discovered on Easter Island as recently as 2023.
For archaeologists, Easter Island is a gift that keeps giving. In February 2023, the dry lake of Rano Raraku (a volcanic crater) revealed a new moai — one smaller than most. The figure was uncovered by three Chilean scientific volunteers, who were working to restore the crater's marshland. Experts estimate that the statue, which was found on its side gazing up at the sky, is at least 200 to 300 years old. The discovery is exciting for both historians and the Rapa Nui people, as it suggests there are even more moai to be found.
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Thanks to Ken ...and Dr.Rich
Tuesday Distractions
Some truisms too …
"The only mystery in life is why the kamikaze pilots wore helmets." – Al McGuire
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." – Albert Einstein
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." – Ambrose Bierce
"It would be nice to spend billions on schools and roads, but right now that money is desperately needed for political ads." – Andy Borowitz
"At every party there are two kinds of people – those who want to go home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other." – Ann Landers
"My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I'm right." – Ashleigh Brilliant
"Have you noticed that all the people in favor of birth control are already born?" – Benny Hill
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." – Bill Watterson
"As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it." – Buddy Hackett
"My favorite machine at the gym is the vending machine." – Caroline Rhea
"All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height." – Casey Stengel
"Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night." – Dave Barry
"How many people here have telekinetic powers? Raise my hand." – Emo Philips
"If you live to be one hundred, you've got it made. Very few people die past that age." – George Burns
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78-79 years ago American soldiers were involved in the largest and costliest battle of WWII. In the miserable cold of a European Winter.
Battle of the Bulge
In December 1944, Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle's name. Lieutenant General George S. Patton's successful maneuvering of the Third Army to Bastogne proved vital to the Allied defense, leading to the neutralization of the German counteroffensive despite heavy casualties.
Its objective was to split the Allied armies by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp, marking a repeat of what the Germans had done three times previously–in September 1870, August 1914, and May 1940. Despite Germany's historical penchant for mounting counteroffensives when things looked darkest, the Allies' leadership miscalculated and left the Ardennes lightly defended by only two inexperienced and two battered American divisions.
On December 16, three German armies (more than a quarter-million troops) launched the deadliest and most desperate battle of the war in the west in the poorly roaded, rugged, heavily forested Ardennes. The once-quiet region became bedlam as American units were caught flat-footed and fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and, later, Bastogne, which was defended by the 101st Airborne Division. The inexperienced U.S. 106th Division was nearly annihilated, but even in defeat helped buy time for Brigadier General Bruce C. Clarke's brilliant defense of St.-Vith. As the German armies drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads west of the River Meuse quickly, the line defining the Allied front took on the appearance of a large protrusion or bulge, the name by which the battle would forever be known.
A crucial German shortage of fuel and the gallantry of American troops fighting in the frozen forests of the Ardennes proved fatal to Hitler's ambition to snatch, if not victory, at least a draw with the Allies in the west. Lieutenant General George S. Patton's remarkable feat of turning the Third Army ninety degrees from Lorraine to relieve the besieged town of Bastogne was the key to thwarting the German counteroffensive. The Battle of the Bulge was the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. Army, which suffered over 100,000 casualties.
The Reader's Companion to Military History. Edited by Robert Cowley and Geoffrey Parker. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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A bit more indepth version
Battle of The Bulge
Facts, information and articles about Battle Of The Bulge, a battle of World War II
Battle Of The Bulge Facts
Date
16 December 1944 – 16 January 1945
Location
The Ardennes, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany
Result
Allied Victory
Troop Strength
80,000 Allies initially; ultimately 600,000+
200,000 Germany initially; ultimately 500,000
Casualties
90,000 Allies
100,000 German
Battle Of The Bulge Articles
Explore articles from the History Net archives about Battle Of The Bulge
» See all Battle Of The Bulge Articles
Battle Of The Bulge summary: The Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944–January 16, 1945), also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the largest battle fought on the Western Front in Europe during World War II; it is also the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. It was a German offensive intended to drive a wedge between the American and British armies in France and the Low Countries and recapture the port of Antwerp in The Netherlands to deny the Allies use of the port facilities. The German codename for the buildup to the offensive was Watch on the Rhine (Wacht am Rhine). The actual offensive was codenamed Operation Autumn Mist (Unternehmen Herbstnebel). It fell far short of its goals but managed to create a bulge in the American lines 50 miles wide and 70 miles deep, which gave the struggle its alliterative name. The phrase "battle of the bulge" already existed in the American lexicon as a term for attempts to lose body weight.
The initial German attack force consisted of more than 200,000 men, around 1,000 tanks and assault guns (including the new 70-ton Tiger II tanks) and 1,900 artillery pieces, supported by 2,000 aircraft, the latter including some Messerschmitt Me 262 jets. In the opening phases of the battle, they would be facing only some 80,000 men, less than 250 pieces of armor and about 400 artillery guns. Many of the American troops were inexperienced; the German force included battle-hardened veterans of the tough fighting on the Eastern Front, but they, too, had green units filled with boys and with men who normally would have been considered too old for military service.
During the course of the month-long battle, some 500,000 German, 600,000 American and 55,000 British troops became involved. The Germans lost some 100,000 men killed, wounded and missing, 700 tanks and 1,600 aircraft, losses they could not replace. Allied losses—the majority of them incurred during the first week—included 90,000 men, 300 tanks and 300 aircraft, but they could make up these losses. In addition, an estimated 3,000 civilians died, some during the fighting and others executed by German combat and security forces. See "War Crimes in the Battle of the Bulge."
The Ardennes Offensive was a massive gamble on the part of German dictator Adolf Hitler, one that he lost badly.
Background to the Battle of the Bulge
By the winter of 1944, Nazi Germany's situation was grim. Soviet forces were coming ever closer to the Fatherland from the east, and in the west Allied forces had crossed the German border. German Chancellor Adolf Hitler intended to launch a surprise attack in the west that would divide and demoralize the Western Allies and, perhaps, convince them to join Germany in its war against the communists of the Soviet Union. In May 1940, he had gambled on a surprise attack through the dense Ardennes Forest into Belgium and France and had won a stunning victory. Now he planned for history to repeat itself: once more German armor would advance through the concealing woods of the Ardennes to strike his enemies by surprise.
The German army commander in the West, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, thought the plan too ambitious. Other commanders also objected to taking resources away from the Eastern Front for this operation, but Hitler overruled them all.
Field Marshal Walther Model's Army Group B would be responsible for the attack. His forces included Generaloberst Josef "Sepp" Dietrich's Sixth Panzer Army, the largest and best equipped of the three striking armies, which was to drive northward, quickly cross the Meuse River and capture Amsterdam before the surprised Allies could regroup. Directly to the south of this force General der Panzertruppen Hosso-Eccard von Manteufel's Fifth Panzer Army would push west in support of Dietrich's attack. General der Panzertruppen Erich Brandenburger's Seventh Army would protect the southern flank. The build-up was given the defensive-sounding codename Watch on the Rhine. Strict security measures included no radio communication to prevent Allied radio intercepts.
On the opposite side, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower was planning major operations in the northern and southern sectors of the front. Accordingly, the center, where the German attack was to fall, was the weakest part of the line. The American VIII Corps, under Major General Troy Middleton, consisted of the 4th, 28th, and 106th infantry divisions, most of the 9th Armored Division, and the two-squadron 14th Cavalry group. The 106th Infantry and 9th Armored were green units, untested in combat. The 4th and 28th had suffered high numbers of casualties during operations in the Hurtgen Forest and were receiving thousands of inexperienced replacements. This small, largely untried force had been assigned an 80-mile-long front; normally, a corps would be defending an area only about one-third that length.
Elsenborn Ridge and St. Vith
The German attack achieved the desired surprise but often encountered unexpectedly tough resistance. Their timetable did not allow for delays, but time and again the Americans slowed the enemy advance.
The road network in the Ardennes was narrow and rough. A key road for Sixth Panzer Army's advance ran parallel to a stretch of high ground called Elsenborn Ridge. Along this ridge, ad-hoc groups of tanks, tank destroyers and dug-in infantry stubbornly resisted. General Eisenhower, immediately realizing his men were facing a major attack in the Ardennes rushed artillery to support the ridge. The firepower from their guns left the narrow roads choked with wrecked vehicles, in addition to those that broke down on their own from mechanical failure. After 10 days of intense fighting, Sixth Panzer Army abandoned its attempts to cross Elsenborn Ridge and sought other routes.
Panzerjager IV of the 1st SS Division advancing. National Archives.
Many villages saw intense fighting. Because of the road situation, towns where several roads converged were critically important; one such town south of Elsenborn Ridge was St. Vith, Belgium. At St. Vith and nearby towns, Fifth Panzer Army encountered stiff resistance; on the first day of the German offensive Eisenhower had ordered the 7th Armored Division to St. Vith to support 106th Infantry units. The narrow roads, ice, snow and mud prevented the Germans from massing their superior armor. The St. Vith pocket held until December 21 when, in danger of being encircled, the defenders withdrew. Their determined stand had thrown another monkey wrench into the German timetable. It bought time for the 82nd Airborne Division to set up strong defensive positions west of the town that blunted the enemy's advance and temporarily pushed the attackers back across the Ambleve River. During the course of their engagements some units of the 82nd Airborne suffered over 80% casualties—the 509th Battalion reportedly took over 90% casualties—with most losses coming during the Allied counteroffensive that began in January.
Bastogne
To the west and south of St. Vith another crossroads town became the focus of intense fighting. When Eisenhower ordered the 7th Armored to St. Vith he also ordered the 10th Armored Division to Bastogne. It joined the 9th Armored, several artillery battalions, and infantrymen defending Bastogne and the small towns around it. On the 18th, the 705 Tank Destroyer Battalion arrived, and on the 19th the 101st Airborne. By the 20th the town was encircled by the advancing enemy, and on the 22nd, four Germans arrived with an ultimatum: surrender or heavy artillery will begin firing on the town. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe sent them back to their commander with a one-word reply: "Nuts." The artillery had already moved farther west, however, so the barrage was not forthcoming, though the Luftwaffe bombed the village by night.
On December 26, Bastogne's defenders received a belated Christmas present: Lieutenant Charles P. Boggess with a few M4 Sherman tanks fought his way into Bastogne from the south. They were the lead element of a relief force from Lieutenant General George S. Patton's Third Army. When Patton struck with three divisions the following day, the German ring around Bastogne was broken.
End of the Battle of the Bulge
By this time, the Nazi offensive was running out of fuel, literally and figuratively. The Germans had waited for bad winter weather to launch their attack, to diminish the ability of Allied aircraft to support the ground troops. The weather also slowed the German advance, however, and this, the narrow roads and stubborn resistance wrecked their timetable. Improving weather conditions allowed Allied planes to take to the skies again and support the counterattacks that began pushing back the Germans. Despite a Luftwaffe offensive in Holland and a second major ground offensive the Germans launched in Alsace on January 1, the Third Reich could not regain the initiative. The Battle of the Bulge is officially considered to have ended January 16, exactly one month after it began, although fighting continued for some time beyond that date. By early February, the front lines had returned to their positions of December 16
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This Day in U S Military History
1846 – The rag-tag army of volunteers known as Doniphan's Thousand, led by Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan, wins a major victory in the war with Mexico with the occupation of El Paso. Born in Kentucky in 1808, Doniphan moved to Missouri in 1830 to practice law. But the tall redheaded man was not satisfied with fighting only courtroom battles, and he volunteered as a brigadier general in the Missouri militia. When war between Mexico and the U.S. erupted in 1846, the men of the 1st Missouri Mounted Volunteers elected Doniphan their colonel, and marched south to join General Stephen Kearny's army in New Mexico. Since they were not professional military men, Doniphan's troops cared little for the traditional spit-and-polish of the regular troops, and reportedly looked more like tramps than soldiers. Likewise, Doniphan was a casual officer who led more by example than by strict discipline. Nonetheless, Doniphan's Thousand proved to be a surprisingly effective force in the war with Mexico. In December, Doniphan led 500 of his men and a large wagon train of supplies south to join General John E. Wool in his planned invasion of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Before he had a chance to meet up with Wool's larger force near the city of Chihuahua, Doniphan encountered an army of 1,200 Mexican soldiers about 30 miles north of El Paso, Texas. Although his opponents had twice the number of soldiers, Doniphan led his men to victory, and with the path to El Paso now largely undefended was able to occupy the city two days later. When nearing the Mexican border, Doniphan learned that General Wool's forces had broken off their invasion of Chihuahua because the army's wheeled vehicles had proved unworkable in the desert landscape. But rather than turn back, Doniphan reassembled his army to its full force of about 1,000 men and was allowed to proceed with the invasion unassisted. Once again grossly outnumbered-the Mexican army was four times the size of Doniphan's-the Missouri troops were still able to quickly break through the defensive lines and occupy Chihuahua City. By mid-summer 1847, Doniphan's victorious army reached the Gulf Coast, where they were picked up by ships and taken to New Orleans for discharge. By then, the focus of the battle had shifted to General Winfield Scott's campaign to take Mexico City. In September of that year, Scott's troops ended the war by successfully occupying Mexico City, and for the first time in U.S. history an American flag flew over a foreign capital. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed early in 1848, gave the U.S. the vast western territory stretching from Texas to the Pacific and north to Oregon.
1943 – The threat of a paralyzing railroad strike loomed over the United States during the 1943 holiday season. President Franklin Roosevelt stepped in to serve as a negotiator, imploring the rail unions to give America a "Christmas present" and settle the smoldering wage dispute. But, as Christmas came and went, only two of the five railroad brotherhoods agreed to let Roosevelt arbitrate the situation. So, on December 27, just three days before the scheduled walk-out, the President shelved his nice-guy rhetoric and seized the railroads. Lest the move look too aggressive, Roosevelt assured that the railroads would only be temporarily placed under the "supervision" of the War Department; he also pledged that the situation would not alter daily rail operations. The gambit worked, as officials for the recalcitrant brotherhoods made an eleventh-hour decision to avert the strike. The action was taken under the wartime Labor Disputes Act. The railroads were returned to private management on January 18, 1944.
1944 – Attacks by the British 30th Corps (part of US 1st Army) force the German 2nd Panzer Division (an element of 5th Panzer Army) out of Celles. The US 3rd Army expands the corridor to Bastogne.
1944 – The US 8th Air Force bombs Coblenz, Bonn and Kaiserslautern (nominally railway targets). The RAF conducts nighttime raids on Munchen-Gladbach and Bonn.
1945 – Foreign ministers from the former Allied nations of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain agreed to divide Korea into two separate occupation zones and to govern the nation for five years.
1950 – Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway took command of U.N. ground forces in Korea. Ridgway was a former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and XVIII Airborne Corps in Europe during World War II. Upon assuming command, he moved immediately to the front to learn the situation first hand. Concurrently with Ridgway's assumption of command, X Corps passed from control of General Headquarters, Far East Command, to the Eighth Army.
1950 – Captain Marcus L. Sullivan became the first Army aviator to pilot a helicopter, a Bell H-13, in Korea.
1968 – Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, returns safely to Earth after an historic six-day journey. On December 21, Apollo 8 was launched by a three-stage Saturn 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders aboard. On Christmas Eve, the astronauts entered into orbit around the moon, the first manned spacecraft ever to do so. During Apollo 8's 10 lunar orbits, television images were sent back home and spectacular photos were taken of the Earth and the moon from the spacecraft. In addition to being the first human beings to view firsthand their home world in its entirety, the three astronauts were also the first to see the dark side of the moon. On Christmas morning, Apollo 8 left its lunar orbit and began its journey back to Earth, landing safely in the Pacific Ocean on December 27. On July 20 of the following year, Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission, became the first men to walk on the moon.
1969 – In the fiercest battle in six weeks, U.S. and North Vietnamese forces clash near Loc Ninh, about 80 miles north of Saigon. Elements of the 1st Infantry Division reported killing 72 of 250 North Vietnamese soldiers in a daylong battle. Loc Ninh, a village of fewer than 10,000 people, was located at the northern limit of national Route 13, only a few miles from the Cambodian border. It was the site of several major battles between U.S. and Communist forces. On April 5, 1972, as part of their Easter Offensive, North Vietnamese forces overtook Loc Ninh during their attempt to capture the An Loc provincial capital to the south.
2012 – Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., commander of the combined coalition forces during the Gulf War, dies from pneumonia complications at age 78.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
MORTON, CHARLES W.
Rank and organization: Boatswain's Mate, U.S. Navy. Born: 1836, Ireland. Accredited to: Maryland. G.O. No.: 11, 3 April 1863. Citation: Serving as boatswain's mate on board the U.S.S. Benton during the Yazoo River Expedition, 23 to 27 December 1863. Taking part in the hour_and_a_half engagement with the enemy at Drumgould's Bluff, 27 December, Morton served courageously throughout the battle against the hostile forces, who had the dead range of the vessel and were punishing her with heavy fire, until the Benton was ordered to withdraw.
ROBINSON, CHARLES
Rank and organization: Boatswain's Mate, U.S. Navy. Born: 1832 Scotland. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 11, 3 April 1863. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Baron de Kalb, Yazoo River Expedition, 23 to 27 December 1862. Proceeding under orders up the Yazoo River, the U.S.S. Baron de Kalb, with the object of capturing or destroying the enemy's transports, came upon the steamers John Walsh, R. J. Locklan, Golden Age, and the Scotland sunk on a bar where they were ordered fired. Continuing up the river, she was fired on by the enemy, but upon returning the fire, caused the rebels to retreat. Returning down the Yazoo, she destroyed and captured large quantities of enemy equipment and several prisoners. Serving bravely throughout this action, Robinson, as boatswain's mate, "d1stinguished himself in the various actions."
WILLIAMS, ROBERT
Rank and organization: Signal Quartermaster, U.S. Navy. Born: 1837, New York, N.Y. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 11, 3 April 1863. Citation: Serving as quartermaster on board the U.S.S. Benton during the Yazoo River Expedition, 23 to 27 December 1862. Taking part in the hour_and_a_half engagement with the enemy at Drumgould's Bluff, 27 December, Williams served courageously throughout that battle against hostile forces in which the enemy had the dead range of the vessel and were punishing her with heavy fire and, for various other action in which he took part during the Yazoo River Expedition.
WHITELEY, ELI
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company L, 15th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Sigolsheim, France, 27 December 1944. Entered service at: Georgetown, Tex. Birth: Florence, Tex. G.O. No.: 79, 14 September 1945. Citation: While leading his platoon on 27 December 1944, in savage house-to-house fighting through the fortress town of Sigolsheim, France, he attacked a building through a street swept by withering mortar and automatic weapons fire. He was hit and severely wounded in the arm and shoulder; but he charged into the house alone and killed its 2 defenders. Hurling smoke and fragmentation grenades before him, he reached the next house and stormed inside, killing 2 and capturing 11 of the enemy. He continued leading his platoon in the extremely dangerous task of clearing hostile troops from strong points along the street until he reached a building held by fanatical Nazi troops. Although suffering from wounds which had rendered his left arm useless, he advanced on this strongly defended house, and after blasting out a wall with bazooka fire, charged through a hail of bullets. Wedging his submachinegun under his uninjured arm, he rushed into the house through the hole torn by his rockets, killed 5 of the enemy and forced the remaining 12 to surrender. As he emerged to continue his fearless attack, he was again hit and critically wounded. In agony and with 1 eye pierced by a shell fragment, he shouted for his men to follow him to the next house. He was determined to stay in the fighting, and remained at the head of his platoon until forcibly evacuated. By his disregard for personal safety, his aggressiveness while suffering from severe wounds, his determined leadership and superb courage, 1st Lt. Whiteley killed 9 Germans, captured 23 more and spearheaded an attack which cracked the core of enemy resistance in a vital area.
JENNINGS, DELBERT O.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 12th Cavalry, 1st Air Cavalry Division. Place and date: Kim Song Valley, Republic of Vietnam, 27 December 1966. Entered service at: San Francisco, Calif. Born: 23 July 1936, Silver City, N. Mex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Part of Company C was defending an artillery position when attacked by a North Vietnamese Army regiment supported by mortar, recoilless-rifle, and machine gun fire. At the outset, S/Sgt. Jennings sprang to his bunker, astride the main attack route, and slowed the on-coming enemy wave with highly effective machine gun fire. Despite a tenacious defense in which he killed at least 12 of the enemy, his squad was forced to the rear. After covering the withdrawal of the squad, he rejoined his men, destroyed an enemy demolition crew about to blow up a nearby howitzer, and killed 3 enemy soldiers at his initial bunker position. Ordering his men back into a secondary position, he again covered their withdrawal, killing 1 enemy with the butt of his weapon. Observing that some of the defenders were unaware of an enemy force in their rear, he raced through a fire-swept area to warn the men, turn their fire on the enemy, and lead them into the secondary perimeter. Assisting in the defense of the new position, he aided the air-landing of reinforcements by throwing white phosphorous grenades on the landing zone despite dangerously silhouetting himself with the light. After helping to repulse the final enemy assaults, he led a group of volunteers well beyond friendly lines to an area where 8 seriously wounded men lay. Braving enemy sniper fire and ignoring the presence of booby traps in the area, they recovered the 8 men who would have probably perished without early medical treatment. S/Sgt. Jenning's extraordinary heroism and inspirational leadership saved the lives of many of his comrades and contributed greatly to the defeat of a superior enemy force. His actions stand with the highest traditions of the military profession and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for December 27, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
27 December
1925: Daniel Guggenheim set up a $2.5million fund to promote aeronautics and speed the development of American aviation. (8: Dec 90)
1935: The 5th Group (Composite) dropped bombs to redirect the Mauna Loa lava flow away from the waterworks at Hilo, Hawaii. (21) (24)
1942: Flying his P-38 Lightning against the Japanese in the Pacific, 2Lt Richard I. Bong scored his first two aerial victories. He later became the top ace in the war. With 40 kills. (21)
1951: KOREAN WAR. Far East Air Forces aircraft flew 900 sorties, the largest number of the month, to damage or destroy locomotives, railcars, buildings, vehicles, and gun positions. (28)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Through 31 December, the 581st Air Resupply and Communications Wing flight of four H-19 helicopters at Seoul flew several experimental agent insertion sorties into enemy territory for covert and clandestine intelligence activities. (28)
1955: Douglas Aircraft Company received a contract for the Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile's airframe. (6)
1962: The first six Lockheed SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft are ordered for production. The SR-71 is the follow-on to the A-12 already under production.
1970: The 374th Tactical Airlift Wing flew the last C-130A mission in South Vietnam. The mission recovered at Naha AB, Japan on 28 December. Thereafter, the Military Assistance Command's (Vietnam) airlift structure no longer included C-130As. (17)
1989: Operation JUST CAUSE. The Military Airlift Command began flying humanitarian assistance missions to Panama. (8: Mar 90)
1992: Operation SOUTHERN WATCH. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 363rd Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB, N. C., intercepted two MiG-25s in the "no-fly" zone in Southern Iraq. The 33rd Fighter Squadron Commander, Lt Col Gary North, fired an AIM-120A missile and shot down a MiG-25. The event featured several firsts: the first combat use of the AIM-120A, the first beyond visual range kill, and the first USAF F-16 air-to-air victory. (16) (20)
2003: On 26 December, a 6.7 earthquake hit in Iran's southeastern Kerman Province near the historic city of Bam. From 27 to 29 December, the Air Mobility Command flew several humanitarian airlift missions to help the earthquake victims. A single C-5 flew from Travis AFB, Calif., to Kuwait City International Airport, where passengers and cargo transferred to C-130s for an airlift to Kerman AB, Iran. Nine C-130 missions and two C-17 missions eventually carried 338,000 pounds of cargo to Kerman. On 28 December, a 137th Airlift Wing (Oklahoma Air Guard) C-130H became the first USAF asset to land in Iran in over 20 years. (22)
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