To All,
Good Sunday Morning March 24, 2024. It is still overcast this morning and cold. The Rain is has been with us since yesterday around noon and continues with some pretty good downpours this morning that were not in the forecast. It will officially be back late today but the wind will pick around noon and stay with us. Have a great rest of your weekend
Tomorrow is Medal Of Honor Day
Regards,
Skip
HAGD
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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/
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History March 24
1903 Adm. George Dewey is commissioned Admiral of the Navy, the only person to hold this rank. Upon his death Jan. 16, 1917, Congress deactivates the rank.
1919 The battleship USS Idaho (BB 42) is commissioned. Idaho serves with the Pacific fleet, participating in gunfire support of the Aleutian, Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa Campaigns, and is in Tokyo Bay Sept. 2, 1945 when Japan formally surrenders.
1936 USS Balch (DD 363), named after Rear Adm. George B. Balch, is launched.
1944 USS Bowfin (SS 287) attacks a Japanese convoy, sinking both a transport and army cargo ship.
1952 The winter of 1951–52 found the 1st Marine Division deployed along an 11-mile front just north of the Punchbowl. In mid-March, the division was reassigned from the X Corps' eastern position in Korea, to the I Corps area at the far western end of the U.N. line. On March 24, the division assumed responsibility for approximately 35 miles of the front, which overlooked Panmunjom and included the defense of the Pyongyang–Seoul corridor. The pace of the war now slowed, with small, localized actions replacing the earlier, large-scale offensives.
1986 The first operational use of a Harpoon missile in combat is used by A-6A aircraft from VA-34 against a Libyan Combatant II G-class fast-attack missile craft. The engagement occurs after Libyan armed forces fire missiles at U.S. Navy forces operating in the Gulf of Sidra. Retaliatory strikes by A-7E Corsair II aircraft put the SA-5 missiles out of action at Surt and VA-85 aircraft then sink the missile craft.
2009 Coastal patrol craft USS Chinook (PC 9) arrives at Umm Qasr, Iraq. During this port visit to Iraq, she is the first U.S. Navy ship to stay overnight.
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This date in World history
March 24
1208 King John of England opposes Innocent III on his nomination for archbishop of Canterbury.
1603 Queen Elizabeth I dies which will bring into power James VI of Scotland.
1663 Charles II of England awards land known as Carolina in North America to eight members of the nobility who assisted in his restoration.
1664 In London, Roger Williams is granted a charter to colonize Rhode Island.
1720 The banking houses of Paris close in the wake of financial crisis.
1721 In Germany, the supremely talented Johann Sebastian Bach publishes the Six Brandenburg Concertos.
1765 Britain passes the Quartering Act, requiring the colonies to house 10,000 British troops in public and private buildings.
1862 Abolitionist Wendell Phillips speaks to a crowd about emancipation in Cincinnati, Ohio and is pelted by eggs.
1900 Mayor Van Wyck of New York breaks ground for the New York subway tunnel that will link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
1904 Vice Admiral Togo sinks seven Russian ships as the Japanese strengthen their blockade of Port Arthur.
1927 Chinese Communists seize Nanking and break with Chiang Kai-shek over the Nationalist goals.
1938 The United States asks that all powers help refugees fleeing from the Nazis.
1944 The Gestapo rounds up innocent Italians in Rome and shoots them to death in reprisal for a bomb attack that killed 33 German policemen.
1947 Congress proposes limiting the United States presidency to two terms.
1951 General Douglas MacArthur threatens the Chinese with an extension of the Korean War if the proposed truce is not accepted.
1954 Great Britain opens trade talks with Hungary.
1955 Tennessee Williams' play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opens at the Morosco Theatre in New York City.
1958 Elvis Presley trades in his guitar for a rifle and Army fatigues.
1965 The Freedom Marchers, citizens for civil rights, reach Montgomery, Alabama.
1967 Viet Cong ambush a truck convoy in South Vietnam damaging 82 of the 121 trucks.
1972 Great Britain imposes direct rule over Northern Ireland.
1985 Thousands demonstrate in Madrid against the NATO presence in Spain.
1989 The Exxon Valdez oil tanker spills 240,000 barrels of oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound.
1999 NATO planes, including stealth aircraft, attack Serbian forces in Kosovo.
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List beginning Monday, 18 March 2024 through Sunday, 24 March 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post of 9 June 2019 "BREAKFAST" in Cambodia… the secret bombing of Cambodia begins… and … "The Unwilling or Unable Doctrine" defined… (Great history lesson for warriors)…
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 can read what happened each day to the aircraft and its crew. ……Skip
This guy never quit trying to escape
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "Sunday 24 March
24: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2722
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
(This site was sent by a friend . 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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Thanks to Cowboy for finding this one….and has some others attached
Trapeze Act - a little levity to brighten your day 😆😆
https://youtu.be/IEAy5zZlJe8?si=fAWt4il60twlLlVS
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
6 Senses You Might Not Know You Had
We've all heard that we have five senses — sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. That idea goes back to the Greek philosopher Aristotle. However, it's wrong.
Modern science has identified as many as 32 senses, by looking at receptors in our bodies with the job of receiving and conveying specific information. Our senses also tend to work in tandem without us noticing a connection. We mostly take this intricate system for granted — until something goes wrong, and we gain a deeper appreciation of the complexity of the human body. Learning more about our senses can help us both understand health problems and appreciate the many ways our bodies perform beautifully. Here are six senses you probably didn't know you possess.
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Vestibular Sense (Equilibrioception)
The vestibular sense is one of balance and orientation. Whenever we move our heads, we activate a set of receptors in the inner ear that allow us to balance. The vestibular sense is also activated by the downward force of gravity. It allows us to know which way is up or down, right or left.
Balance exercises can help boost the vestibular sense, which begins to decline after age 40. That's why the elderly may be unsteady on their feet. Side note: "Out of body" experiences may be episodes when the vestibular sense doesn't work normally. It's a scary sensation, not feeling "grounded."
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Proprioception
Our muscles and joints contain receptors that deal with how our bodies occupy space. These proprioception receptors make it possible to walk down the street without constantly banging into someone (although cell phones don't help), climb stairs without looking down, or touch our fingers to the tip of our noses.
These same receptors provide feedback about how our muscles are affecting the environment. A child who uses too much force when writing or coloring, for example, may need proprioception coaching. Football players, on the other hand, are proprioception experts. They move fluidly around obstacles, seeing them from afar, and know exactly how hard to throw the ball.
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Inner Sensing (Interoception)
People also vary a great deal in their awareness of inner body signals, known as interoception. Someone who doesn't pick up on stomach fullness may eat or drink too much. Someone who doesn't notice a stomach rumbling may eat too little. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) sometimes need to be reminded to eat, for example. We also notice when our hearts are beating faster or when we need the toilet.
Meditation practices that teach us to notice our breathing are, in effect, boosting our awareness of one kind of interoception signals, a system of body-wide receptors that communicate with a spot deep in the brain called the insular cortex. This inner sensing doesn't just tell us if we're hungry or tired. It allows us to note our own emotions, which often begin as physical sensations. That's why meditation can help with both body awareness and emotional self-knowledge.
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Thermoception
We have special receptors in our skin that communicate with an area in the hypothalamus (known as the thermoregulatory center) to monitor temperature. There are at least six different kinds of external temperature receptors in our skin, each designed for a different temperature range. If the air gets cold, the appropriate cold receptors fire more to signal a change.
If receptors for outer temperature are exposed to a sensation for a long time, they stop firing as much. That's why we can get used to cold if we're patient. But nerve damage can take that too far, and lead us to miss important information. People who don't feel cold sufficiently can get frostbite or, if they don't feel heat quickly enough, a bad burn.
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Nociception
We actually know we have this one — it's called pain. But for some time, pain wasn't understood as being its own sensory system. Pain receptors can be classified into three distinct types: cutaneous (skin), somatic (bones, joints, muscles, and beyond), and visceral (body organs).
People vary in what's called their "pain tolerance." Nociceptors each have a minimum intensity of stimulation before they trigger a signal that gets passed along into the spinal cord to the brain. Different kinds of nerve fibers are responsible for fast, localized, sharp pain and slow, poorly localized, dull pain.
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Time
We speak of a "body clock," but actually our bodies are full of clocks with different functions. Our circadian clock is tuned to the rise and fall of daylight and is disrupted when we cross several time zones or lose sleep. Other clocks are tuned for tiny intervals. Our sleep includes multiple 90-minute cycles; we have rhythms for blood pressure, hormone secretion, heart rate, and more.
But how do we perceive time? It's a mystery. Many people have had the experience of waking up a second before the alarm goes off when they're nervous about catching a plane — even if that's not their usual wake-up time. Somehow, we can perceive time accurately while asleep. Some people know exactly how long a conversation has lasted and others have no idea. When we're bored, time moves slowly. When we're intensely engaged, time seems to stop and hours pass. Scientists are pinpointing areas of the brain that may provide our sense of time through body processes like breathing and heart rate. Although we don't know how we perceive time, it's clear that we do have a sense of time passing.
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Thanks to Mugs
Work toward another super sonic passenger jet moves along.
Boom - FlyBy
https://boomsupersonic.com/flyby/inaugural-first-flight-xb1-supersonic-demonstrator
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Thanks to Brett
STRATFOR THE WEEKLY RUNDOWN
RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT WILL SHAPE THE COMING WEEK
KEY DEVELOPMENTS WE'RE TRACKING
Senegal's presidential elections. Senegal will hold the first round of its presidential election March 24, followed by a runoff between the two candidates with the largest share of the vote March 31 if no candidate wins a majority in the first round. The main contenders are former Prime Minister Amadou Ba for the incumbent Benno Bokk Yakar coalition and Bassirou Diomaye Faye for the dissolved left-wing PASTEF party. Barring a major surprise, the two candidates will likely face off in a runoff, as none of the 17 candidates running in the first round is likely to secure more than 50% of ballots. A Ba victory would see a continuation of outgoing President Macky Sall's pro-business reforms. Faye's election, by contrast, would result in significant economic policy changes, as he has pledged to renegotiate energy and mining contracts signed during Sall's two terms and to set the stage for Senegal's exit from the West African CFA franc zone. Faye's policies would likely result in a marked decline in investor confidence in Senegal, potentially causing the country to miss its economic growth forecasts.
Xi meets with U.S. CEOs. Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to meet with the CEOs of major American companies March 27, according to Wall Street Journal sources, who added that Xi might still cancel. This meeting would follow the China Development Forum on March 24-25, at which U.S. and global CEOs will be present and for which Chinese Premier Li Qiang revealed earlier this month he would not attend his usual meeting with CEOs. Xi is highly unlikely to unveil economic policy changes, but even if all he does is show up, it will still represent a confidence booster for U.S. businesses, which are growing accustomed to poor access to Chinese leadership and a lack of quality information on China's policy trajectory. In the months following these business meetings, concrete policy changes could emerge, like China's proposed Private Economy Promotion Law or its cyber regulator's newly relaxed terms on cross-border data flows released March 22.
Macron meets with Lula in Brazil. French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Brazil on March 26-28, where he will meet President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss bilateral relations, diverging positions on a host of global issues and ever-complicated free trade negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur. The two leaders acknowledge different points of view on the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. France is one of the most vocal advocates for military support to Ukraine in its war against Russia, something Brazil largely sees as prolonging the war. Meanwhile, Brazil has explicitly condemned the Israeli offensive in Gaza, while France has only relatively recently begun demanding Israeli restraint. Progress is unlikely on the EU-Mercosur trade deal, which Macron strongly opposes amid domestic political pressures — including European Parliament elections in June — despite Lula being one of its most vocal promoters. In spite of disagreements on these issues, the two leaders will still focus on enhancing bilateral cooperation, and Macron is bringing a large business delegation to the Latin American country.
The Caribbean Community finalizes membership of Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council. Though reports indicate ongoing deliberation regarding some of the proposed members, in the coming week the Caribbean Community will announce the official list of members of the council that could take control of the Haitian government from Prime Minister Ariel Henry within days or weeks. The establishment of the council will allow efforts for the Kenya-led, U.N. Security Council-approved multinational security deployment to continue given that Kenya has said it would not deploy until the council is in place. Even so, critically high political instability will almost certainly continue under the Transitional Presidential Council, and the risk that council members will disagree over how to proceed and that some groups in Haiti (including gangs) will violently oppose the structure will remain high.
MOST READ ANALYSIS FROM THE WEEK
How Will the Gaza War Impact Qatar's Foreign Policy and Its Ties to Hamas?
As Hamas loses control of the Gaza Strip and is suppressed into an insurgency, Qatar will likely expel Hamas' political bureau and align its Palestine policies with the other Gulf Coordination Council members, though Doha will likely use humanitarian aid to maintain its independent foreign policy. Since the onset of the Hamas-Israel war in October, Qatar has adopted an active role in securing the release of hostages and a cease-fire. Earlier in the conflict, Qatar brokered the release of foreign nationals and dual passport holders from Gaza. Qatar subsequently coordinated the weeklong pause in fighting in late November, which saw Hamas release over 100 Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners and allowing for increased humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Since then, Qatar has tried to broker another deal that would see Israel agree to a temporary cease-fire in exchange for Hamas releasing more of the roughly 134 hostages, dead and alive, who remain in Gaza after being kidnapped during the militant group's Oct. 7 assault on Israel. However, this effort has stalled amid both sides' steep conditions for further negotiations: Hamas has demanded an end to the fighting and the withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces from the Gaza Strip, while Israel has demanded a full release of all remaining hostages and has not committed to the permanent cease-fire envisioned by Hamas.
In a Boost for the Banking Sector, Japan Ends Negative Interest Rates
A decision by the Bank of Japan to end negative interest rate and yield curve control policies is meant to reestablish greater monetary policy flexibility, and will benefit the Japanese banking sector.
Putin's Reelection Clears the Way for Domestic Measures to Continue the War Effort
Russia will use President Vladimir Putin's reelection to prepare for continued conflict in Ukraine and fortify Putin's continued rule long ahead of an eventual succession process.
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
When I was young crossing the USA back and forth with my parents going from base to base I saw a lot of these and over time I have seen all but the Bean in Chicago. Every time we would go into a new state we would get a family picture next to the "Welcome to the state sign or monument". We have many of the same state and you could tell we were growing. We also went to many more than these 10.
Later I flew over or near most of these and many others in the F-8. Being alone had its advantages and only making one pass early in the morning helped but was not always the case. It was just a lot of fun.
10 Stories Behind the Names of Famous U.S. Landmarks
When it comes to landmarks in the U.S., not every name is as straightforward as the Lincoln Memorial. The stories behind the names of some of the country's most famous landmarks are just as fascinating as the sites themselves, whether they involve bad translations, controversial dedications, or nicknames made up on the spot. Here's how 10 of the most iconic landmarks in the U.S. got their names.
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Mount Rushmore
The iconic mountain that bears the giant stone faces of four U.S. Presidents is named after a lawyer from New York. In 1884, Charles E. Rushmore was sent to the Black Hills in South Dakota to secure land for tin mining (on lands considered sacred by the Lakota Sioux). He spent many weeks exploring the area with guides, and at one point, he inquired as to the name of an impressive peak nearby. Since the mountain had no name, a prospector with him replied, "We will name it now, and name it Rushmore Peak." From then on, it was referred to as Rushmore Peak, Rushmore Mountain, or Rushmore Rock. When the national memorial was finished in 1927, it officially became known as Mount Rushmore.
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Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island didn't always hold the most infamous prison in the United States. In 1775, when the Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala first sailed into San Francisco, it was one of three barrier islands off the coast. When mapping the bay, Ayala named the three islands Isla de Los Alcatraces. Over time, the name was shortened to Alcatraz, which translates to "pelican" or "strange bird." After the island became the site for the country's most isolated federal prison years later, it earned the nickname "The Rock" due to its remote location in San Francisco Bay and for the way the island juts prominently out of the water.
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White House
Although it may seem obvious why the presidential mansion is referred to as the White House, there's more to the story than the paint color. Before President Theodore Roosevelt began calling his residence the White House in 1901, it was more often referred to as the "President's House" or the "Executive Mansion." However, since the homes of U.S. governors were also called executive mansions, Roosevelt named his home the "White House" in order to distinguish it above all others. The house's color resulted from a lime-based whitewash that was applied in 1798 to protect the exterior from cracking.
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Cloud Gate
Although it's most commonly called "The Bean," in reference to its distinctive shape, the actual name of Chicago's most famous sculpture is Cloud Gate. It was unveiled in Millenium Park in 2004 and has since become one of the city's most popular attractions. Designed by British sculptor Anish Kapoor, Cloud Gate remains his most famous work to date. Although the piece is magnificent, the name is deceptively simple: Kapoor chose Cloud Gate for the clouds that can be seen in the sculpture's reflective surface and for the way the curved underside serves as a gate to the park.
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Devils Tower
Devils Tower is an impressive rock formation that stands 867 feet high above the Black Hills of northwestern Wyoming, considered sacred by Indigenous cultures. When settlers first arrived in this part of the country, the rock was labeled on maps as "Bear Lodge," a translation for the common Lakota name Mato Tipila. However, the name changed when Colonel Richard Irving Dodge led a geology and mapmaking expedition to the site. Dodge wrote that the Indigenous people called the place "bad god's tower," which eventually led to the adoption of the name Devils Tower. However, this is believed to be a bad translation, as no records have ever shown that Native Americans considered the tower to be associated with evil spirits.
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Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty has long stood as a symbol of freedom and hope for U.S. residents and newcomers, but when first built, Lady Liberty went by a different name. Designed by the French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi and gifted from France to the U.S. in honor of the centennial celebration, the Statue of Liberty was originally entitled "Liberty Enlightening the World." The 305-foot statue was unveiled on Liberty Island in New York's Upper Bay on October 28, 1886, but eventually the lengthy title of the statue was dropped in favor of the simpler "Statue of Liberty."
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Golden Gate Bridge
Easily San Francisco's most recognizable landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge is named not for its reddish-orange hue but rather for the body of water it crosses, the Golden Gate Strait. The mile-wide strait, which connects San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, was named in 1846, a few years before the California Gold Rush. It was at this time that the explorer John C. Fremont came across the strait and recalled the Golden Horn of the Bosporus in Constantinople (now Istanbul). He named the strait the "Golden Gate," translated from the Greek word Chrysopyla, in honor of another body of water halfway around the world.
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Hoover Dam
Before it was officially declared the Hoover Dam, this marvel of modern engineering went by a few different monikers. Originally, it was known as the Boulder Canyon Project, which changed to the Black Canyon Project when the location was moved. It was then referred to as the Boulder Dam on legislation, and many assumed that to be the official name until the Secretary of Interior declared it the Hoover Dam in honor of the acting president, Herbert Hoover. The new name was controversial since Hoover was incredibly unpopular at the time due to the Great Depression. It wasn't until 12 years later that it formally became the Hoover Dam, after a House Resolution passed to certify the name.
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Old Faithful
Located in America's first national park, Yellowstone, Old Faithful draws around 4 million visitors annually. The powerful geyser was named by the members of the Washburn Expedition of 1870, who discovered that it erupted with reliable regularity. It was the first geyser to be given a title in the park. The nickname stuck — today, the geyser still erupts every 91 minutes. As for Yellowstone National Park itself, it was named for the Yellowstone River, which runs through the park and flows into Yellowstone Lake. The Yellowstone River's first incantation was Mi tse a-da-zi, which translates to "Yellow Rock River" in the language of the Minnetaree people.
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Liberty Bell
Although the famously cracked bell is widely known as a symbol of independence, Liberty Bell wasn't always its name. After it was cast in London and hung in Philadelphia's State House, it was originally referred to as the "State House Bell." It was rung on July 8, 1776, to celebrate the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, and it later became a powerful symbol of the anti-slavery movement in the 1830s. With an inscription bearing the motto, "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof," the iconic landmark represented the ideal of freedom to the abolitionists who coined the name Liberty Bell.
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This Day in U S Military History
24 March
1765 – Britain enacted the Quartering Act, requiring American colonists to provide temporary housing to 10,000 British soldiers in public and private buildings. It also required colonists to provide food for any British soldiers in the area. Each of the Quartering Acts was an amendment to the Mutiny Act and required annual renewal by Parliament. They were originally intended as a response to issues that arose during the French and Indian War and soon became a source of tension between the inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies and the government in London, England. These tensions would later fuel the fire that led to the Revolutionary War.
1814 – Although US General James Wilkinson is acquitted by a court of inquiry for his conduct in the Montreal campaign, he is replaced by Major General Jacob Brown who, along with newly promoted Brigadier General Winfield Scott, is to head the military operations in the Niagra region.
1855 – Manhattan, Kansas, was founded as New Boston, Kansas.
1883 – Long-distance telephone service was inaugurated between Chicago and New York.
1903 – George Dewey commissioned Admiral of the Navy with the date of rank, 2 March 1899. He was the only person to hold this rank.
1916 – German U-Boats sink the French vessel Sussex which is steaming through the English Channel. The ship is unarmed and three US citizens loose their lives. On 18 April this incident will lead Secretary of State Lansing to warn Germany that the US will break off diplomatic relations unless these attacks are discontinued.
1920 – The first Coast Guard air station was established at Morehead City, North Carolina. The
1934 – President Roosevelt signed the Tydings-McDuffie Act granting future independence to the Philippines as a self-governing commonwealth.
1942 – American positions on Bataan and Corregidor are attacked by Japanese aircraft and artillery.
1944 – 76 Allied officers escaped Stalag Luft 3. In 1949 Paul Brickall authored "The Great Escape." The story of Jackson Barrett Mahon (d.1999 at 78), an American fighter pilot, and the Allied POW escape from Stalag Luft III in Germany during WW II. The 1963 film "The Great Escape" starred Steve McQueen, was directed by John Sturges and was based on the true story.
1944 – On Bougainville, significant Japanese resistance ends. American forces do not attempt to clear the Japanese remnants from the island. Over the course of the past few weeks, Japanese casualties are estimated at 8000 while the US forces have suffered about 300 casualties.
1944 – The 22nd Marine Regiment captured Ebon and Namu Atolls in the Marshall Islands.
1945 – The US 9th Army begins to cross the Rhine a little to the south of the British and Canadians forces.
1945 – Gens. Eisenhower, Montgomery and Bradley discussed advance in Germany.
1945 – US Task Force 58 (Admiral Mitscher) conduct air raids on Okinawa. The island is also bombarded by 5 battleships and 11 destroyers under the command of Admiral Lee. Japanese submarines make unsuccessful attacks on the American ships. Meanwhile, American scout planes sight a Japanese convoy south of Kyushu and subsequent attacks sink all 8 ships.
1947 – John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated a NYC East River site to the UN.
1958 – Elvis Presley is inducted into the army on this day in 1958. Although he had been drafted the previous December, the army granted him a deferral so he could finish shooting his film, King Creole.
1975 – The North Vietnamese "Ho Chi Minh Campaign" begins. Despite the 1973 Paris Peace Accords cease fire, the fighting had continued between South Vietnamese forces and the North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam. In December 1974, the North Vietnamese launched a major attack against the lightly defended province of Phuoc Long, located north of Saigon along the Cambodian border. They successfully overran the provincial capital at Phuoc Binh on January 6, 1975. President Richard Nixon had repeatedly promised South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu that the United States would come to the aid of South Vietnam if the North Vietnamese committed a major violation of the Peace Accords. However, by the time the communists had taken Phuoc Long, Nixon had resigned from office and his successor, Gerald Ford, was unable to convince a hostile Congress to make good on Nixon's promises to Saigon. The North Vietnamese, emboldened by the situation, launched Campaign 275 in March 1975 to take the provincial capital of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. The South Vietnamese defenders fought very poorly and were quickly overwhelmed by the North Vietnamese attackers. Once again, the United States did nothing. President Thieu, however, ordered his forces in the Highlands to withdraw to more defensible positions to the south. What started out as a reasonably orderly withdrawal degenerated into a panic that spread throughout the South Vietnamese armed forces. They abandoned Pleiku and Kontum in the Highlands with very little fighting and the North Vietnamese pressed the attack from the west and north. In quick succession, Quang Tri, Hue, and Da Nang in the north fell to the communist onslaught. The North Vietnamese continued to attack south along the coast, defeating the South Vietnamese forces one at a time. As the North Vietnamese forces closed on the approaches to Saigon, the Politburo in Hanoi issued an order to Gen. Van Tien Dung to launch the "Ho Chi Minh Campaign," the final assault on Saigon itself. By April 27, the North Vietnamese had completely encircled Saigon and by April 30, the North Vietnamese tanks broke through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon and the Vietnam War came to an end.
1992 – The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off with seven astronauts on the first shuttle mission devoted to the environment.
1996 – U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid transfers to the Russian space station Mir from the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis for a planned five-month stay. Lucid was the first female U.S. astronaut to live in a space station. Lucid, a biochemist, shared Mir with Russian cosmonauts Yuri Onufriyenko and Yuri Usachev, conducting scientific experiments during her stay. Beginning in August, her scheduled return to Earth was delayed more than six weeks because of last-minute repairs to the booster rockets of Atlantis and then by a hurricane. Finally, on September 26, 1996, she returned to Earth aboard Atlantis, touching down at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Her 188-day sojourn aboard Mir set a new space endurance record for an American and a world endurance record for a woman.
2000 – A US federal judge awarded former hostage Terry Anderson $341 million from Iran, holding Iranian agents responsible for Anderson's nearly seven years of captivity in Lebanon.
2003 – In the 6th day of Operation Iraqi Freedom US forces began strikes against the Medina Division of the Republican Guard guarding Baghdad. Hussein appeared on Iraqi TV as coalition forces held over 3,000 prisoners. 10 Marines were killed in combat around Nasiriya.
2003 – After Coalition forces have pushed further into Iraq securing most of the southern oilfields over the weekend, Kuwaiti fire fighters are able to enter Iraq and are able to extinguish one of the wellhead fires. Iraq's southern fields represent about 40% of the country's output. Damage is assessed to be relatively minimal. Some pockets or Iraqi resistance in the southern oilfields remain, however. Furthermore, heavy Iraqi resistance in some parts of Iraq gives rise to market speculation that the war could last longer than initially thought.
2003 – Iraqi state television showed two men said to have been the U.S. crew of an Apache helicopter forced down during heavy fighting in central Iraq. Chief Warrant Officer David Williams and Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Junior spent three weeks in captivity before they were released along with five other POWs.
2004 – A NASA unpiloted X-43A jet, part of its Hyper-X program, reached a record speed of 5,200 mph, Mach 6.83, after a rocket boosted it to 3,500 mph. It used a new engine called a supersonic-combustion ramjet, or scramjet.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*PETERS, GEORGE J.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company G, 507th Parachute Infantry, 17th Airborne Division. Place and date: Near Fluren, Germany, 24 March 1945. Entered service at: Cranston, R.I. Birth: Cranston, R.I. G.O. No.: 16, 8 February 1946. Citation: Pvt. Peters, a platoon radio operator with Company G, made a descent into Germany near Fluren, east of the Rhine. With 10 others, he landed in a field about 75 yards from a German machinegun supported by riflemen, and was immediately pinned down by heavy, direct fire. The position of the small unit seemed hopeless with men struggling to free themselves of their parachutes in a hail of bullets that cut them off from their nearby equipment bundles, when Pvt. Peters stood up without orders and began a l-man charge against the hostile emplacement armed only with a rifle and grenades. His single-handed assault immediately drew the enemy fire away from his comrades. He had run halfway to his objective, pitting rifle fire against that of the machinegun, when he was struck and knocked to the ground by a burst. Heroically, he regained his feet and struggled onward. Once more he was torn by bullets, and this time he was unable to rise. With gallant devotion to his self-imposed mission, he crawled directly into the fire that had mortally wounded him until close enough to hurl grenades which knocked out the machinegun, killed 2 of its operators, and drove protecting riflemen from their positions into the safety of a woods. By his intrepidity and supreme sacrifice, Pvt. Peters saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers and made it possible for them to reach their equipment, organize, and seize their first objective.
*BRYANT, WILLIAM MAUD
Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces. Place and date: Long Khanh Province, Republic of Vietnam, 24 March 1969. Entered service at: Detroit, Mich. Born: 16 February 1933, Cochran, Ga. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sfc. Bryant, assigned to Company A, distinguished himself while serving as commanding officer of Civilian Irregular Defense Group Company 321, 2d Battalion, 3d Mobile Strike Force Command, during combat operations. The battalion came under heavy fire and became surrounded by the elements of 3 enemy regiments. Sfc. Bryant displayed extraordinary heroism throughout the succeeding 34 hours of incessant attack as he moved throughout the company position heedless of the intense hostile fire while establishing and improving the defensive perimeter, directing fire during critical phases of the battle, distributing ammunition, assisting the wounded, and providing the leadership and inspirational example of courage to his men. When a helicopter drop of ammunition was made to re-supply the beleaguered force, Sfc. Bryant with complete disregard for his safety ran through the heavy enemy fire to retrieve the scattered ammunition boxes and distributed needed ammunition to his men. During a lull in the intense fighting, Sfc. Bryant led a patrol outside the perimeter to obtain information of the enemy. The patrol came under intense automatic weapons fire and was pinned down. Sfc. Bryant single-handedly repulsed 1 enemy attack on his small force and by his heroic action inspired his men to fight off other assaults. Seeing a wounded enemy soldier some distance from the patrol location, Sfc. Bryant crawled forward alone under heavy fire to retrieve the soldier for intelligence purposes. Finding that the enemy soldier had expired, Sfc. Bryant crawled back to his patrol and led his men back to the company position where he again took command of the defense. As the siege continued, Sfc. Bryant organized and led a patrol in a daring attempt to break through the enemy encirclement. The patrol had advanced some 200 meters by heavy fighting when it was pinned down by the intense automatic weapons fire from heavily fortified bunkers and Sfc. Bryant was severely wounded. Despite his wounds he rallied his men, called for helicopter gunship support, and directed heavy suppressive fire upon the enemy positions. Following the last gunship attack, Sfc. Bryant fearlessly charged an enemy automatic weapons position, overrunning it, and single-handedly destroying its 3 defenders. Inspired by his heroic example, his men renewed their attack on the entrenched enemy. While regrouping his small force for the final assault against the enemy, Sfc. Bryant fell mortally wounded by an enemy rocket. Sfc. Bryant's selfless concern for his comrades, at the cost of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
*COKER, RONALD L.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company M, 3d Battalion, 3d Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, 24 March 1969. Entered service at: Denver, Colo. Born: 9 August 1947, Alliance, Colo. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman with Company M in action against enemy forces. While serving as point man for the 2d Platoon, Pfc. Coker was leading his patrol when he encountered 5 enemy soldiers on a narrow jungle trail. Pfc. Coker's squad aggressively pursued them to a cave. As the squad neared the cave, it came under intense hostile fire, seriously wounding 1 marine and forcing the others to take cover. Observing the wounded man lying exposed to continuous enemy fire, Pfc. Coker disregarded his safety and moved across the fire-swept terrain toward his companion. Although wounded by enemy small-arms fire, he continued to crawl across the hazardous area and skillfully threw a hand grenade into the enemy positions, suppressing the hostile fire sufficiently to enable him to reach the wounded man. As he began to drag his injured comrade toward safety, a grenade landed on the wounded marine. Unhesitatingly, Pfc. Coker grasped it with both hands and turned away from his wounded companion, but before he could dispose of the grenade it exploded. Severely wounded, but undaunted, he refused to abandon his comrade. As he moved toward friendly lines, 2 more enemy grenades exploded near him, inflicting still further injuries. Concerned only for the safety of his comrade, Pfc. Coker, with supreme effort continued to crawl and pull the wounded marine with him. His heroic deeds inspired his fellow marines to such aggressive action that the enemy fire was suppressed sufficiently to enable others to reach him and carry him to a relatively safe area where he succumbed to his extensive wounds. Pfc. Coker's indomitable courage, inspiring initiative and selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
*SINGLETON, WALTER K.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division. Place and date: Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, 24 March 1967. Entered service at: Memphis, Tenn. Born: 7 December 1944, Memphis, Tenn. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Singleton's company was conducting combat operations when the lead platoon received intense small arms, automatic weapons, rocket, and mortar fire from a well entrenched enemy force. As the company fought its way forward, the extremely heavy enemy fire caused numerous friendly casualties. Sensing the need for early treatment of the wounded, Sgt. Singleton quickly moved from his relatively safe position in the rear of the foremost point of the advance and made numerous trips through the enemy killing zone to move the injured men out of the danger area. Noting that a large part of the enemy fire was coming from a hedgerow, he seized a machinegun and assaulted the key enemy location, delivering devastating fire as he advanced. He forced his way through the hedgerow directly into the enemy strong point. Although he was mortally wounded, his fearless attack killed 8 of the enemy and drove the remainder from the hedgerow. Sgt. Singleton's bold actions completely disorganized the enemy defense and saved the lives of many of his comrades. His daring initiative selfless devotion to duty and indomitable fighting spirit reflected great credit upon himself and the Marine Corps, and his performance upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for March 24, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
24 March
1934: Maj. Gen. George O. Squire dies in Washington, D.C. Squire was instrumental in the procurement of the Army's first airplane and was chief of the Air Service during World War I.
1939: Jacqueline Cochran used a Beechcraft plane, with Twin Wasp engines, to set a women's national altitude record of 30,052.43 feet over Palm Springs, Calif. (24)
1945: Operation VARSITY. Eighth Air Force sent 1,000 bombers to support an Allied airborne and amphibious assault across the Rhine River. More than 2,000 transports and gliders from the IX Troop Carrier Command dropped two airborne divisions near Wesel, Germany, in daylight. Some 7,000 sorties supported the crossing. Ninth Air Force fighters provided reconnaissance, interdiction, and air support. (4) (21) Nearly 150 B-17s from Fifteenth Air Force, flying from Southern Italy, bombed Berlin for the first time. The aircraft dropped 357 tons of bombs on industrial targets. (24)
1951: KOREAN WAR. Far East Air Forces used an H-19 helicopter for the first time to evacuate wounded troops in Korea. Additionally, 52 C-119s and C-46s dropped an additional 264 tons of supplies to troops at Munsan-ni, because they could not depend on surface lines of communication for supplies. (21) (28)
1965: Alvin S. White and Van Separd broke the world records for weight and speed endurance in the XB-70A bomber. It weighed 534,000 pounds at takeoff, flew at a supersonic speed for 80 minutes, and cruised at a top speed of 1,400 MPH. (3) The Titan II completed its first operational test launch from Vandenberg AFB successfully. (5)
1970: Tyndall AFB completed the first launching of a BOMARC B guided missile, using the new BUIC computerized command and control equipment. (16)
1971: In the first operational test of Minuteman III, missile crews and maintenance technicians assigned to the 91 SMW at Minot AFB launched a missile from Vandenberg AFB. (1) (6)
1977: TAC's 552d Airborne Warning and Control System Wing at Tinker AFB received the first production E-3A AWACS aircraft. (12) (20)
1982: USAFE acquired Comiso Air Station, Sicily, for the ground-launched cruise missile. (16) (26)
1992: Last USAF fighter aircraft to be stationed in Spain left the country. They had served in Spain for 26 years. (16) (26) The US signed the Open Skies Treaty along with 24 other nations. The treaty permitted unarmed aerial reconnaissance flights over any member country. (16) (26)
1995: The last Atlas E missile launched a satellite from Vandenberg AFB into a polar orbit. (16) (26)
1998: An F-15E successfully launched a live AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile above Edwards AFB, Calif., to complete the aircraft's Suite 3 avionics upgrades for an air-to-air and air-to-ground capability. (3)
1999: Operation ALLIED FORCE/NOBLE ANVIL/PHOENIX DUKE II. To prevent the forced eviction and genocide of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo, NATO launched this operation against Serbia in the former Yugoslavian Republic. It was exclusively an air campaign and NATO's first combat operation against a sovereign nation. The U.S. named its part of the Operation NOBLE ANVIL. Additionally, the USAF used the B-2 for the first time in combat, while F-15 pilots shot down two MiG-29s on the first day of combat. Under Operation PHOENIX DUKE II, Air Mobility Command's role in the operation preceded the bombing and continued afterward. From 18 February when the first airlift mission was flown, through 3 July when the tanker redeployment came to an end, Air Mobility Command flew 2,130 airlift missions to transport 32,111 passengers and 52,645 short tons of cargo. In the air campaign, which ended on 9 June, KC-10s and KC-135s flew 9,001 missions to deliver 348.5 million pounds of fuel to receiving aircraft. KC-135 Stratotankers and crews from the Hawaii ANG's 203 AREFS, on a previously scheduled deployment to France, participated in the operations. Air Mobility Command's last air refueling aircraft returned to the US on 20 July, while the final airlift missions finished on 26 July. (21) (22) (32)
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