To All,
Good Saturday Morning March 30, 2024...
The rain started around 0400 and will stay around for the next two days.
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 30
1944 Task Force 58 begins bombing of Japanese airfields, shipping, fleet servicing facilities, and other installations at Palau, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai in the Carolines.
1944 USS Darter (SS 227) sinks a Japanese army cargo ship near New Guinea, despite the presence of an escort vessel. Also on this date, USS Picuda (SS 382) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks a transport ship near Guam while USS Stingray (SS 186) sinks a transport ship near Saipan.
1953 During the Korean War, five enemy guns in the Wonsan area fire about 20 rounds at USS Prichett (DD 561), falling about 150 yards short. Prichett silences the enemy guns with counterbattery fire.
1973 USS Forrestal (CVA 59) and Sixth Fleet ships provided aid to Tunisia following a disastrous flood, relocating 729 persons, 27 tons of cargo and an entire herd of 227 sheep.
1991 USS Princeton (CG-59) and crew are awarded the Combat Action Ribbon in recognition of the superior and arduous work the crew put in to keep the ship in war-fighting status following the Feb. 18 mining of the ship where three crew members were injured and the ships propeller was damaged during Operation Desert Storm.
2007 USS Hawes (FFG 53) provides medical assistance to Liberian cargo vessel MV Harmony while conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the southern Persian Gulf.
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1972 - Easter Offensive began in Vietnam
Son of Quote of the Day
On this day in history (March 30):
1858: Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia patented the pencil.
1981: President Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by gunman John W. Hinckley Jr., who also wounded White House news secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and a District of Columbia police officer, but recovered quickly & joked about his ruined suit. As Reagan is wheeled into surgery, he quips to the doctors, "Please tell me you're Republicans." Hinckley wanted to impress actress Jodie Foster. Hinckley was later found NOT guilty by reason of insanity.
1999: Model Fabio was injured while riding a roller coaster as a goose flew into his face at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.
And today is:
National Hot Dog Day
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Today in World History March 30
1492 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sign a decree expelling all Jews from Spain.
1840 "Beau" Brummell, the English dandy and former favorite of the prince regent, dies in a French lunatic asylum for paupers.
1858 Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia patents the pencil with an eraser attached on one end.
1867 Russian Baron Stoeckl and U.S. Secretary of State Seward complete the draft of a treaty ceding Alaska to the United States. The treaty is signed the following day.
1870 The 15th amendment, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race, passes.
1870 President U.S. Grant signs bill readmitting Texas to the Union, the last Confederate state readmitted.
1885 In Afghanistan, Russian troops inflict a crushing defeat on Afghan forces, despite orders not to fight.
1909 The Queensboro Bridge in New York opens. It is the first double decker bridge and links Manhattan and Queens.
1916 Mexican bandit Pancho Villa kills 172 at the Guerrero garrison in Mexico.
1936 Britain announces a naval construction program of 38 warships. This is the largest construction program in 15 years.
1941 The German Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel begins its first offensive against British forces in Libya.
1943 Rodgers and Hammerstein's first collaboration, Oklahoma, opens on Broadway.
1944 The U.S. fleet attacks Palau, near the Philippines.
1945 The Red Army advances into Austria.
1946 The Allies seize 1,000 Nazis attempting to revive the Nazi party in Frankfurt.
1950 President Harry S Truman denounces Senator Joe McCarthy as a saboteur of U.S. foreign policy.
1957 Tunisia and Morocco sign a friendship treaty in Rabat.
1972 Hanoi launches its heaviest attack in four years, crossing the DMZ.
1975 As the North Vietnamese forces move toward Saigon, desperate South Vietnamese soldiers mob rescue jets.
1981 President Ronald Reagan is shot and wounded in Washington, D.C. by John W. Hinckley Jr.
1987 Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers is bought for $39.85 million.
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Thanks to Hatch
Here is where to send any items you may have on JFK
Skip, any pics etc. may be sent to me at: Tom Hiatt 245 Stone Edge Circle, Kingsport, TN 37660. I will put them together and ensure that he gets everything. It was nothing short of a miracle that he and his wife escaped along with their dog as the fire happened at 3 in the morning. Smoke alarm woke them. Change those batteries. Thanks for any help. Hatch
twhiatt (twhiatt@aol.com <mailto:twhiatt@aol.com>)
Shipmate loss of house
Skip a friend that served on the JFK recently lost his house and all their belongings in a fire. He had a lot memories of his time on the JFK. If any Bubbas have some good pics of JFK and would send them to me to build a memory file for his new office it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Hatch. twh...@aol.com <mailto:twh...@aol.com>
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Thanks to Lurch…If you lived In SoCal in the 50's through the 70s you knew and watched Cal worthinto and his dog Spot but spot could be any creature. He sold a lot of cars.
Subject: Cal's used F-4s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg8-mx4KGK8
Anyone from Southern California will remember Cal Worthington.
Enjoy.
Ralph
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List beginning Monday, 25 March 2024 through Easter Sunday, 31 March 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post of 16 June 2019…
Includes: A summary of McNamara's Wall—"Igloo White"; The Virtual Wall tributes to 1LT Frederick Hess, USAF, MIA/BNR; and, the report of a Soviet visitor to North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail, who wrote in January 1972, "Vietnam—A Courageous Country: Heroes of the Fire Road"…
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
Lots going on in this one
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "Saturday 30 March
30: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1683
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 Service members 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 Micro
Language
1. If poison expires, is it more poisonous or is it no longer poisonous?
2. Which letter is silent in the word "Scent," the S or the C?
3. Do twins ever realize that one of them is unplanned?
4. Why is the letter W, in English, called double U? Shouldn't it be called double V?
5. Maybe oxygen is slowly killing you and it just takes 75-100 years to fully work.
6. Every time you clean something, you just make something else dirty.
7. The word "swims" upside-down is still "swims."
8. 100 years ago everyone owned a horse and only the rich had cars. Today everyone has cars and only the rich own horses.
9. If you replace "W" with "T" in What, Where and When, you get the answer to each of them.
Six great confusions still unresolved....
1. At a movie theater, which arm rest is yours?
2. If people evolve from monkeys, why are monkeys still around?
3. Why is there a 'D' in fridge, but not in refrigerator?
4. Who knew what time it was when the first clock was made?
Vagaries of English Language!
- Wonder why the word funeral starts with FUN?
-Why isn't a Fireman called a Waterman?
- How come Lipstick doesn't do what it says?
- If money doesn't grow on trees, how come Banks have Branches?
- If a Vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a Humanitarian eat?
- How do you get off a non-stop Flight?
- Why are goods sent by ship called CARGO and those sent by truck SHIPMENT?
- Why do we put cups in the dishwasher and the dishes in the Cupboard?
- Why do doctors 'practice' medicine? Are they having practice at the cost of the patients?
- Why is it called 'Rush Hour' when traffic moves at its slowest then?
- How come Noses run and Feet smell?
- Why do they call it a TV 'set' when there is only one?
- What are you vacating when you go on a vacation?
We can never find the answers, can we?
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What a Rope Trick!
Thanks to Barrel
His did not work in the List but Cowboy found a URL that works fine
Use this link on YouTube instead: https://youtu.be/xmI9uwYzH9o?si=9L-yBmGFC-i0uiM-
What a rope trick
Las Vegas magician Mac King has a trick that's so notoriously difficult to figure out, even world famous magicians Penn &Teller admitted they have no clue how this is done.
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My dad worked for Pratt in West Hartford and took me on a tour once. Got to see one of those engines going through its paces in a cell. Very impressive….skip
Thanks to Dr. Rich
Some amazing details of SR71 and its unique engine-- WAY ahead of its time!!
Pratt & Whitney, From Secret Project Suntan To The J58 That Powered The Blackbird, To Space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxyydqL2NpE
Pratt & Whitney, From The F100 turbofan That Powered The F-15 To The F-22 Raptor Engine. PART 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0csHkmgYIo
The J58 -- only one of its kind
http://enginehistory.org/GasTurbines/P&W/me-2013-dec3.pdf
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Thanks to interesting Facts
7 of History's Most Significant Archaeological Discoveries
Some of the world's biggest archaeological discoveries not only changed the way we interpret our past but also solved historical mysteries. In addition to making front-page headlines around the world, many discoveries sparked cultural fads. Not every archaeological dig will yield a cache of priceless jewels or one-of-a-kind artifacts, but the finds mentioned below stand out as exceptional.
1 of 7
Tutankhamun's Tomb
In November 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his patron Lord Carnarvon located the tomb of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Unlike other royal tombs, Tut's had remained virtually undisturbed for more than 3,000 years. Over the next few years, Carter unearthed an eye-popping collection of gold and ivory chests, statues of sacred beings, model boats, and other goods, plus Tut's mummy and his iconic gold mask inlaid with semi-precious stones. The discovery of the best-preserved Egyptian tomb and its treasures set off a worldwide obsession with Egyptian-themed fashion, jewelry, and art.
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The Rosetta Stone
While digging the foundation for a new fort in July 1799, soldiers in Napoleon's army found a fragment of stone in the Nile that bore the same message in three languages: Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic script, and ancient Greek. By comparing the Greek text to the other two passages, scholars could finally decode the meaning of the hieroglyphics. Before the Rosetta Stone's discovery, ancient Egyptian writing had been an undecipherable mystery. Later, scholars such as Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion showed that the hieroglyphics on the stone revealed names of important figures and other details of ancient Egyptian history. Reportedly, Champollion was so excited to have deciphered the mystery that he fainted.
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The Skeleton of "Lucy"
In 1974, American anthropologist Donald Johanson and grad student Tom Gray stumbled upon "Lucy," the skeleton of a single individual hominid (Australopithecus afarensis) who lived in present-day Ethiopia a little over
3 million years ago. Lucy proved to be a previously unknown human ancestor who walked upright — demonstrating that bipedalism evolved before larger brains — and was the most complete ancient hominid skeleton that had then ever been found. Since then, anthropologists have unearthed other hominid species with the help of modern technology, including Homo naledi in South Africa, Homo floriensis in Indonesia, and the Denisovans in Siberia.
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Lascaux Cave Paintings
The fabulously detailed drawings on the walls of the Lascaux cave, which depict cattle, horses, bison, deer, and other animals, stunned the world when they were discovered by four young men in southwest France in 1940.
Dating back about 20,000 years to the middle of the Late Stone Age, the drawings represent some of the earliest known figurative art and are a window into humankind's cultural development. The Paleolithic painters may have used Lascaux as a ceremonial site or a place to demonstrate their artistic skills, but no one knows for sure.
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The Terracotta Army
In 1974, a farmer near the city of Xi'an, China, dug up some fragments of terracotta, which led to the discovery of thousands of life-size carved terracotta soldiers buried in the mausoleum of the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who had died in 210 BCE. Each warrior had a unique expression, and they stood four abreast in trenches as if ready to defend their leader. Carved horses, chariots, swords, and other weapons were also found. Much remains to be discovered at the mausoleum, which includes 600 burial and architectural sites spanning almost 22 square miles.
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The Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of religious writings and books of the Hebrew Bible created between 2,000 and 2,300 years ago. Soon after the first seven scrolls were discovered in 1947 by a shepherd exploring a cave on the shore of the Dead Sea, the fragile manuscripts transformed historians' views of Jewish religious life and culture two millennia ago.
The texts revealed a Judean society influenced by different philosophies and practices, a world that gave rise to rabbinic Judaism and Christianity.
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L'Anse Aux Meadows Viking Settlement
Thirteenth-century Icelandic sagas told of a group of Vikings, led by Leif Erikson, who sailed across the ocean to a lush new world. In the 1960s, archaeologists Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad discovered exactly where the Norse people landed around 1000 CE — modern-day Canada. The Ingstads located the ruins of European-style buildings at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland, and further excavations revealed artifacts of Norse origin. The evidence confirmed the first European settlement in North America.
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Thanks to Bro Len
Subject: Re: Aircraft Carrier Film READY ON ARRIVAL
Hi Bro Skip…
FYI & Memories…
Bro Len… And a Blessed Easter.
Hi Bro Bill... Thanks a Thousand for the wonderful memories.
Great Show! I flew VF-84 F4 Phantoms in CAG-8 aboard USS Independence, but it was after Grumann created this awesome, presentation.
Max Forwards to Fellow Fly Guys and Friends.
GBY & Yours, Now & Always.
Bro Len Kaine... 🙏🏻 🏴☠️ 🎖️
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On Fri, Mar 29, 2024 Bill Asbell wrote:
Hi Len...Thought you might enjoy! Fly Navy
https://youtu.be/ufA1uV4cePY?si=QrKbLnHR698mh9fs
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Thanks to Buzz ...
A true giant in Marine Corps history has been lost. May he rest in eternal peace.
Semper Fi,
Buzz
PS - I have a personal story during Operation Desert Shield, the precursor to Operation Desert Storm, involving General Gray that I will share at a later date.
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/alexandria-va/alfred-gray-11723333
Alfred Mason Gray Jr.
June 22, 1928 – March 20, 2024
Marines Mourn the Loss of Corps Legend and 29th Commandant, General Alfred Gray
General Alfred M. Gray Jr., the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, died March 20 at his home in Alexandria, Virginia. He was 95. General Gray was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 39 years, Jan, who passed away January 30, 2020.
Born June 22, 1928, in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Gray enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1950 after dropping out of college to fight in Korea, serving as a radio operator with the Amphibious Reconnaissance Platoon, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.
Over the next 41 years, Gray established a legacy of heroism in combat, deploying eight times to lead Marines in dangerous missions – several of them clandestine. Gray earned the distinction of leading the first independent ground operations by a Marine unit in Vietnam while commanding a composite unit of signals intelligence Marines supported by attached infantry. During his several deployments to Vietnam, Gray pioneered modern signals intelligence collection methods and developed operational employment concepts in which intelligence drove follow-on operations. His lifelong advocacy for such techniques earned him admittance to the National Security Agency's Hall of Honor in 2008 for lifetime achievements in the area of signals intelligence. His early work and establishment of two units, formed the nucleus of what is known today as the Marine Cryptologic Support Battalion.
Commanding at every operational level from 40-person platoon to 40,000-strong Marine Amphibious Force, General Gray reached the pinnacle of Marine Corps leadership when Navy Secretary James Webb selected him to serve as the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps.
While Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Gray established an unrivaled reputation as a champion of academics and professional education. He federated five of the Corps' formal schools for officers and senior enlisted leaders under the umbrella command of a new Marine Corps University. Hundreds of Marine leaders earn accredited degrees through the university each year as they complete courses of study for promotion and advancement. For Marines of all ranks, Gray implemented the requirement to read at least two books each year from a list he hand-selected. The Commandant's Reading List remains a fixture of Marine Corps professional development.
Gray also led the Marine Corps through the adoption of the doctrinal warfighting concept that serves as the distinguishing institutional and operational philosophy to this day. The Corps' embrace of maneuver warfare doctrine earned it numerous battlefield successes from the 1980s through the modern day. Maneuver warfare continues to be studied not just by U.S. Marines, but by foreign militaries and even civilian business schools around the world. Maneuver warfare emphasizes adaptability, decisiveness, and initiative based on common operational understanding.
Throughout his career, Gray's experience as a junior Marine and a noncommissioned officer anchored his leadership philosophy. In an address to a graduating U.S. Naval Academy class, he advised the newly commissioning officers, "If you come and join my Marines, I want you to know that your 'number one' job is to take care of the men and women you are privileged to lead."
Gray stated in interviews that his best day in the Marine Corps was the day he promoted to corporal and joined the ranks of noncommissioned officers.
"I think as excited as I ever was as a young Marine ... my proudest day probably was when I got to put corporal on my return address on the envelope [home]. That was a very, very good day."
Gray left his mark in other ways as well. When visitors to the Pentagon observe the portraits of the Corps' Commandants hanging in the Marine Corps hallway, the tidy row of officers bedecked in Marine Corps Dress Blues and gleaming medals is abruptly disrupted by the face of General Gray smiling back at them as he stands proudly in his Camouflage Utility Uniform. As was his reputation, Gray sought to deliver an enduring message. He adamantly instructed all Marines that "every Marine is, first and foremost, a rifleman. All other conditions are secondary."
This warrior mindset manifested itself in the areas of training and combat readiness as well. Gray directed changes to Marines' readiness to fight "in any clime or place," as the service's hymn reads. Marine formations trained to conduct large-scale maneuvers in desert and cold-weather environments, as unit leaders implemented the tenets of maneuver warfare. This transformation in the aftermath of the Vietnam War-era included the development of a maritime special operations capability, emphasis on the education of leaders, establishment of the Marine Corps University, and development of a long-range desert operations capability.
From their first date in September of 1969, General Gray and his wife Jan were separable only by fidelity to Corps and duty. After a brief engagement, then-Major General Gray and Jan married on July 27, 1980, in Burlington, Vermont. Throughout their marriage of nearly 40 years, Mrs. Gray gave her time and efforts unselfishly to the Marine Corps. She was best known for her dedication to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, the Marine Corps Scholarship Program, the Navy Wifeline Program, the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Program, and the families of casualties from the Beirut Bombing. In 1985, she was lauded with the Marine Corps League Distinguished Service Award. In 1991, the Department of the Navy bestowed on her its Distinguished Public Service Award, recognizing her years of dedication to the men, women and families of the Department of the Navy.
After his military retirement, General Gray served as board chairman and CEO for several public and private companies and was a consultant for several organizations in national and international industry and government. He served on the Defense Science Board; Defense Special Operations Advisory Group; National Security Agency Science Advisory Board; National Reconnaissance Office Gold Team; Defense Operations Support Office Advisory Team; and as director of the Advanced Concept Demonstration Technology for Combat in the Littorals. General Gray was also chairman emeritus of the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and America Fund, which help take care of wounded veterans and their families. In addition, he served as chancellor of the Marine Military Academy and chairman of the U.S. Marine Youth Foundation, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, and the Chairman of the Board of the Norwich University Advanced Research Institute.
A public viewing for General Gray will be held from 1400-1600 and 1800-2000, April 7, 2024 at Demaine Funeral Home, 520 S. Washington St, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 703-549-0074. There will be an open-to-the-public Full Honors Funeral Ceremony in the National Capital Region at a location and time to be determined. Burial services at Arlington National Cemetery will follow the funeral ceremony. In lieu of flowers, General and Mrs. Gray wish for donations to any of the following charitable organizations:
- Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund
- Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation
- Marine Youth Fitness Foundation
- Marine Corps University Foundation
- Marine Corps Heritage Foundation
- Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation
- Hope for the Warriors
- Toys For Tots
- Carolina Museum of the Marine
- Marine Corps Association and Foundation
- Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society
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This Day in U S Military History March 30
1942 – The Joint Chiefs divide the Pacific into two command spheres. Admiral Nimitz is appointed Commander in Chief of the Pacific Ocean zone and General MacArthur, the Commander in Chief of the Southwest Pacific. This demarcation will lead to friction when planning the reconquest of the east.
1945 – US naval forces, including TF58 and TF52, continue air strikes on Okinawa while TF54 continues bombarding the island. A Japanese Kamikaze plane badly damages the cruiser USS Indianapolis. Unsuccessful submarine attacks continue.
1951 – The heaviest air attack of the war was staged by 38 B-29's on twin bridges over the Yalu River at Sinuiju, dropping some 280 tons of bombs. Escorting F-80s and F-86s engaged enemy MiG-15 jets, destroying three and damaging six.
1972 – A major coordinated communist offensive opens with the heaviest military action since the sieges of Allied bases at Con Thien and Khe Sanh in 1968. Committing almost their entire army to the offensive, the North Vietnamese launched a massive three-pronged attack into South Vietnam. Four North Vietnamese divisions attacked directly across the Demilitarized Zone in Quang Tri province. Thirty-five South Vietnamese soldiers died in the initial attack and hundreds of civilians and soldiers were wounded. Following the initial assault in Quang Tri province, the North Vietnamese launched two more major attacks: at An Loc in Binh Long Province, 60 miles north of Saigon; and at Kontum in the Central Highlands. With the three attacks, the North Vietnamese committed 500 tanks and 150,000 men, as well as thousands of Viet Cong, supported by heavy rocket and artillery fire. After initial successes, especially against the newly formed South Vietnamese 3rd Division in Quang Tri, the North Vietnamese attack was stopped cold by the combination of defending South Vietnamese divisions (along with their U.S. advisers) and massive American airpower. Estimates placed the North Vietnamese losses at more than 100,000 and at least one-half of their tanks and large caliber artillery.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*PETERSON, GEORGE
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K, 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Eisern, Germany, 30 March 1945. Entered service at: Brooklyn, N.Y. Birth: Brooklyn, N.Y. G.O. No.: 88, 17 October 1945. Citation: He was an acting platoon sergeant with Company K, near Eisern, Germany. When his company encountered an enemy battalion and came under heavy small-arms, machinegun, and mortar fire, the 2d Platoon was given the mission of flanking the enemy positions while the remaining units attacked frontally. S/Sgt. Peterson crept and crawled to a position in the lead and motioned for the 2d Platoon to follow. A mortar shell fell close by and severely wounded him in the legs, but, although bleeding and suffering intense pain, he refused to withdraw and continued forward. Two hostile machineguns went into action at close range. Braving this grazing fire, he crawled steadily toward the guns and worked his way alone to a shallow draw, where, despite the hail of bullets, he raised himself to his knees and threw a grenade into the nearest machinegun nest, silencing the weapon and killing or wounding all its crew. The second gun was immediately turned on him, but he calmly and deliberately threw a second grenade which rocked the position and killed all 4 Germans who occupied it. As he continued forward he was spotted by an enemy rifleman, who shot him in the arm. Undeterred, he crawled some 20 yards until a third machinegun opened fire on him. By almost superhuman effort, weak from loss of blood and suffering great pain, he again raised himself to his knees and fired a grenade from his rifle, killing 3 of the enemy guncrew and causing the remaining one to flee. With the first objective seized, he was being treated by the company aid man when he observed 1 of his outpost men seriously wounded by a mortar burst. He wrenched himself from the hands of the aid man and began to crawl forward to assist his comrade, whom he had almost reached when he was struck and fatally wounded by an enemy bullet. S/Sgt. Peterson, by his gallant, intrepid actions, unrelenting fighting spirit, and outstanding initiative, silenced 3 enemy machineguns against great odds and while suffering from severe wounds, enabling his company to advance with minimum casualties.
*WILL, WALTER J.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company K 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Eisern, Germany, 30 March 1945. Entered service at: West Winfield, N.Y. Birth: Pittsburgh, Pa. G.O. No.: 88, 17 October 1945. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry during an attack on powerful enemy positions. He courageously exposed himself to withering hostile fire to rescue 2 wounded men and then, although painfully wounded himself, made a third trip to carry another soldier to safety from an open area. Ignoring the profuse bleeding of his wound, he gallantly led men of his platoon forward until they were pinned down by murderous flanking fire from 2 enemy machineguns. He fearlessly crawled alone to within 30 feet of the first enemy position, killed the crew of 4 and silenced the gun with accurate grenade fire. He continued to crawl through intense enemy fire to within 20 feet of the second position where he leaped to his feet, made a lone, ferocious charge and captured the gun and its 9-man crew. Observing another platoon pinned down by 2 more German machineguns, he led a squad on a flanking approach and, rising to his knees in the face of direct fire, coolly and deliberately lobbed 3 grenades at the Germans, silencing 1 gun and killing its crew. With tenacious aggressiveness, he ran toward the other gun and knocked it out with grenade fire. He then returned to his platoon and led it in a fierce, inspired charge, forcing the enemy to fall back in confusion. 1st Lt. Will was mortally wounded in this last action, but his heroic leadership, indomitable courage, and unflinching devotion to duty live on as a perpetual inspiration to all those who witnessed his deeds.
*BOBO, JOHN P.
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 3d Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, 30 March 1967. Entered service at: Buffalo, N.Y. Born: 14 February 1943, Niagara Falls, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Company 1 was establishing night ambush sites when the command group was attacked by a reinforced North Vietnamese company supported by heavy automatic weapons and mortar fire. 2d Lt. Bobo immediately organized a hasty defense and moved from position to position encouraging the outnumbered marines despite the murderous enemy fire. Recovering a rocket launcher from among the friendly casualties, he organized a new launcher team and directed its fire into the enemy machine gun positions. When an exploding enemy mortar round severed 2d Lt. Bobo's right leg below the knee, he refused to be evacuated and insisted upon being placed in a firing position to cover the movement of the command group to a better location. With a web belt around his leg serving as a tourniquet and with his leg jammed into the dirt to curtain the bleeding, he remained in this position and delivered devastating fire into the ranks of the enemy attempting to overrun the marines. 2d Lt. Bobo was mortally wounded while firing his weapon into the main point of the enemy attack but his valiant spirit inspired his men to heroic efforts, and his tenacious stand enabled the command group to gain a protective position where it repulsed the enemy onslaught. 2d Lt. Bobo's superb leadership, dauntless courage, and bold initiative reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for March 30, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
30 March
1931: At Scott Field, an airplane transferred mail in flight to an airship. (24)
1937: Pan American Airways completed a 7,000-mile survey flight from Pago Pago, American Somoas, to Auckland, New Zealand, in a Sikorsky S-42B seaplane to identify possible landing sites. (24)
1944: Navy Task Force 58, under VAdm Marc Mitscher, with 11 carriers attacked on Palan, Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai to prepare Hollandia for landings. (24)
1945: For the XX Bomber Command's final mission, 24 B-29s from bases in India completed struck Bukum Island, near Singapore. (24)
1949: President Harry S. Truman signed a bill to build a "permanent" US radar defense network. (16)
1953: A Convair XC-99 established a new, world's load-lifting record of 104,000 pounds. (5)
1961: Joseph A. Walker reached the highest altitude attained in manned flight to date when he flew the X-15, with the XLR-99 rocket engine, to 169,600 feet. (9) (24) SAC accepted its fourth and last Atlas D squadron, the 549 SMS at Offutt AFB, to complete the program. (1) (6)
1963: SAC accepted its first Titan II launch facility, site 570-2 at the 570 SMS, Davis-Monthan AFB. (6)
1970: USAFE dispatched medical teams and support personnel from Turkey to provide medical aid and humanitarian services to thousands of earthquake victims around Gediz, Turkey. (16) (26)
1972: U.S. airpower halts a large-scale North Vietnamese offensive across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Vietnam. The "Easter Offensive" consists of approximately 40,000 troops and 400 armored vehicles and includes thrusts into the Central Highlands and areas north of Hanoi.
1972: The Joint Chiefs of Staff authorize up to 1,800 B-52 sorties may be flown each month in Southeast Asia. This is an increase of 600 sorties per month from a February 8th JCS directive.
1979: Rockwell International submitted a B-1 termination claim for $394.8 million. (12)
1981: Mr. Robert J. Hermann, Assistant SECAF for Research, Development, and Logistics, approved the Long-Range Combat Aircraft's R&D program. (12)
2000: The X-38 successfully completed its highest, fastest, and longest flight to date, gliding from 39,000 feet and attaining 500 mph before deploying its parachutes for a gentle touchdown on Rogers Dry Lake. It was the X-38's third and final flight for NASA's Dyrden Flight Research Center. (3)
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