To All,
Good Monday Morning April 1, 2024...
The rain kept up most of the day yesterday and this morning it is partly cloudy and suppose to remain clear for a couple of days. The rain was pretty heavy at times and it will take a few days to dry up so I can attack the weeds. The last tree to still have leaves has not yet started to drop but when it does it will keep me hopping because it is the closest to the pool. Have a great week and I hope to see many of you Friday at the Bubba Breakfast.
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
April 1
1893 Navy General Order 409 establishes the rate of Chief Petty Officer.
1899 A landing party of 60 men from USS Philadelphia (C 4) and a force of 100 friendly natives join 62 men from HMS Porpoise and Royal Isle in Samoa to establish order over Samoan throne.
1943 USS Shad (SS 235) torpedoes and damages the Italian blockade runner Pietro Orseolo, shortly after the Italian ship reaches the Bay of Biscay and her escort of four German destroyers.
1945 Under heavy naval gunfire and aircraft support, U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops begin the invasion of Okinawa, the last major amphibious assault of World War II.
1967 - Helicopter squadron HAL 3 activated at Vung Tau
1991 USS Marvin Shields (FF 1066) arrives at her home port of San Diego, Calif. She is the first West Coast ship to return to CONUS from Operation Desert Storm.
2007 The last US Navy T-2C Buckeye, assigned to VX-20, retires to Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.
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This day in World history April 1
0408 Theodosius II succeeds to the throne of Constantinople.
1308 King Albert is murdered by his nephew John, because he refused his share of the Habsburg lands.
1486 Christopher Columbus convinces Queen Isabella to fund expedition to the West Indies.
1805 The state of Virginia passes a law requiring all freed slaves to leave the state, or risk either imprisonment or deportation.
1863 The Battle of Chancellorsville begins as Union General Joe Hooker starts his three-pronged attack against Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
1867 Reconstruction in the South begins with black voter registration.
1877 President Rutherford B. Hayes withdraws all Federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.
1898 The U.S. Navy under Commodore George Dewey defeats the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines.
1915 The British luxury liner Lusitania leaves New York Harbor for a voyage to Europe. A week later it would be torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat.
1927 Adolf Hitler holds his first Nazi meeting in Berlin.
1931 The Empire State Building opens in New York.
1934 The Philippine legislature accepts a U.S. proposal for independence.
1937 President Franklin Roosevelt signs an act of neutrality, keeping the United States out of World War II.
1944 The Messerschmitt Me 262, the first combat jet, makes its first flight.
1945 Martin Bormann, private secretary to Adolf Hitler, escapes the Führerbunker as the Red Army advances on Berlin.
1948 North Korea is established.
1950 Gwendolyn Brooks becomes the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry called Annie Allen.
1960 Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane is shot down over Russia.
1961 Fidel Castro announces there will be no more elections in Cuba.
1968 In the second day of battle, U.S. Marines, with the support of naval fire, continue their attack on a North Vietnamese Division at Dai Do. See the article below On Capt Jay Vargas and his Medal of Honor at the battle Of Dai Do
1970 Students from Kent State University riot in downtown Kent, Ohio, in protest of the American invasion of Cambodia.
1986 The Tass News Agency reports the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.
2011 Osama Bin Laden is killed in Abbottabad Pakistan by US Navy SEALS in Operation Neptune Spear.
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 1 April 2024 and ending Sunday, 7 April 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post of 23 June 2019… Two great Song Books of the Vietnam War: Lydia Fish and Joseph Tuso…
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
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "Monday 1 April
April
1. https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1687
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 Al
Monday Morning Humor--April Fools' Day
Did you know that babies born on March 31 are the easiest to prank on April Fools' Day. They were literally born yesterday!
April Fools' Day groaners;;;
• How do pirates celebrate April Fools' Day? They walk the prank/Why is everyone so tired on April 1? Because they just finished a 31-day March.
• I have a great April Fools' joke about construction, but I'm still working on it.
• I was going to tell you an April Fools' joke about boxing, but I forget the punch line.
• Did you hear the story about the guy who switched the labels on the pumps at the gas station? It was an April Fuels' joke.
• Knock, knock! Who's there? Lenny. Lenny who? Lenny know when you've come up with a better April Fools' Day joke I can tell.
• What did the ghost say on April 1? April Ghoul's Day!
• What's the difference between Christmas and April 1? One's all about yule and the other is all about fools.
• What did Rhett Butler say to Scarlett O'Hara on April 1? Prankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
• Who needs just one day for fools? I'm surrounded by them 365 days a year!
• I was going to tell you an April Fools' Day joke about an old plane, but I just don't think it'll fly today.
• What did the lifeguard say on April 1? April Pools' Day!
• What did one egg say to the other on April 1? Heard any good yolks today?
• What did the hammer say on April 1? April Tools' Day!
• Knock, knock! Who's there? Otto. Otto who? You otto know April Fools' is on April 1.
April Fools' Day Pranks for Your Family or Friends:
• Create Brussels sprout cake pops that look super-appetizing, but become quite the surprise at first bite!
• Fill up a doughnut box (think something obvious, like Krispy Kreme or Dunkin' Donuts) with veggies inside, and listen for the reactions near the break room at work!
• Send automatic, fun cat facts to your friends' phones through the Cat Facts app, and LOL as you can view their replies as well!
• There are plenty of apps that you can download to a friend's phone, but one that they might legitimately get a kick out of is "Pun of the Day"—you can keep those jokes coming throughout the whole year!
• Find a GIF of the infamous testing typing dots, and text it to different members of your family, who will be so curious about what you could be writing to them for such a long time!
• At the office, put tape under a coworker's computer mouse, and watch them try to figure out why it's not working!
• You'll hear plenty of sss-screams after hiding rubber snakes in the dressers of your kids and/or spouse!
• Bring "chocolate chip" cookies into the office that are actually filled with raisins.
• After placing coffee grounds inside the toilet tank and flushing a few times, the brown water is going to make it awkward between all of your housemates, to say the least!
• If you have access to a friend's FB (someone who's a serious social media fan), change their posts' visibility to private for the day and see how long they'll last before inquiring about their lack of likes!
• Fill a doughnut up with mayo and expect plenty of cringe-worthy reactions!
• Freeze a bowl of cereal and milk overnight, and your child will wonder why on earth they can't spoon it out the next morning!
• Place a "Please honk and wave—April Fools' prank!" sign on the back of your car to either confuse your spouse or roommate on the way to work or your children going to school!
• Tape fake roaches inside a lampshade with the light on—talk about making everyone immediately feel creepy-crawly!
• Make a mashed potato and gravy sundae that looks just like ice cream and caramel sauce, but is definitely more dinner than dessert!
• Sorry in advance to whoever is on the receiving end of this prank, but one way to really shock someone is by leaving fake poop out somewhere in your home, car or workplace!
• Stuff toilet paper in the toe of your kids' or roommates' shoes, and see how long it takes for them to figure out the prank!
• Switch out two (or more) bags of cereal from their boxes for the ultimate "gotcha!" moment in the morning!
• Stick clear plastic wrap over the toilet, but be prepared for a clean-up that's slightly less funny!
• Place a Jolly Rancher or two in the showerhead so that the water comes out sticky (and potentially a little colorful)!
• Take a screenshot of your coworker or friend's computer (or phone desktop), and leave the picture up so that they can't figure out why nothing on their desktop is opening!
• Put the corner of a dollar bill outside of a book so that it's poking out, but attach that small sample to a larger note that says, "April Fools!"
• Mix together M&M's, Skittles and Reese's Pieces all in one bowl. Whether it's displayed at home or at work, those who grab a couple of handfuls will be in for a shocking "treat!"
• Get crafty by adding googly eyes to everything in your kids' or spouse's packed lunch!
• By putting jelly beans in the ice dispenser, anyone who preps for a cold glass of water will get another cool surprise spilling into their cup instead!
• Switch out the wrappers of small chocolate eggs and place them over grapes instead—a much healthier snack than anyone would expect!
• Replace the inside of your roommate's deodorant with cream cheese!
• Give out fake scratch-offs that will claim they won $50,000!
• Get a cardboard cutout of an actor or singer and put it in the shower to really startle your family!
• Purchase a sterile cup, fill it with apple juice, and drink out of it throughout the day!
• Replace the TP with a roll of packing tape on your bathroom's toilet paper holder!
• Play with a remote-controlled spider toy around the house or office to really freak people out!
• Rub some food dye onto the bottom of your faucet to make the tap water colorful and startling at the same time!
• Wake up early on April Fools' Day and turn everything that you can think of upside down in the house!
• Have fun putting fake parking tickets on the windshield of one of your teens, or your BFF, and watch them sweat!
• Switch out the sock drawers of every member of your family. They'll be so confused as they get ready for school or work!
• Order takeout, and when you receive the meal, hide whatever your significant other ordered. Then, try to keep a poker face while they assume their food is missing!
• During a video chat with your BFF, pretend you're telling an exciting story with your lips moving and giving animated expressions/gestures, without actually saying a word!
• In the morning, hide all of your K-Cups or ground coffee and see how long it takes before panic ensues in your household!
• While making dinner, ask a loved one to taste-test what's on the spoon… Only mix up some crazy ingredients from your fridge ahead of time and place that on the spoon instead of what you're cooking!
• Put peanut butter on your bathroom toilet paper roll to confuse and disgust your family member(s)!
Remember…believe nothing and trust no one this April Fools' Day. So it's just like any other day.
Al
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Easter Is The World's Most Historically Verified Holiday
By: Scott S. Powell
March 29, 2024
Easter, which has its ultimate meaning in the resurrection, is one of ancient history's most scrutinized and best-attested events.
From the beginning of recorded history, people have turned to religion as a way to find refuge, solace, and meaning. Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, and most other religions point to their own prophets and teachers, but among those world religions, only Christianity has a founder who professed to be the Messiah — the Son of God. Easter is the historical account and conclusive evidence of that Messiah.
Easter weekend starts with Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion when God sacrificed His only Son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill His plan to provide salvation from sin for all who believe in Christ, the Savior. Easter Sunday is the celebration of Christ's resurrection, the third day from His death by crucifixion, and the completion of God's plan for the world to know who Jesus was.
Every other religious founder in history came into the world to live. The death of other religious leaders — such as Abraham, Moses, Buddha, and Mohammad — brought an anticlimactic end to their lives and their work. But Christ came into the world to die, and His sacrifice was the ultimate climax of His life, done for the benefit of all mankind — opening the way to eternal life and a full relationship with God.
Christ was also unique being the only figure in recorded history who was widely pre-announced starting 1,000 years before He was born, with more than 100 prophetic accounts from 18 different prophets from the Old Testament between the 10th and the fourth centuries B.C. — predicting the specifics of His coming birth, life, and death. Hundreds of years later, the details of Christ's birth, life, betrayal, and death validated those prophecies in astonishingly accurate and minute detail. In fact, 1,000 years before Christ, David prophetically wrote about the crucifixion of Jesus at a time when crucifixion had not yet been invented as a means of execution.
Additionally, among the other world religions built on personalities, only Christianity claims its founder is still alive, having overcome death through resurrection. No Jew has believed that after Abraham died and was interred, his tomb ever became empty. After Buddha died, no disciple claimed he or she saw or spoke to him again. As for Mohammed, the founder of Islam, there is no trace of his appearing to his disciples or followers after he died. His occupied tomb is in Medina and is visited by tens of thousands of devout Muslim pilgrims every year.
The Living Proof
The resurrection was central to God's providence because it provided "seeing is believing" evidence of God bringing Jesus the Savior back from being dead in a tomb to being alive — resurrected — for 40 days, so people would have irrefutable living proof of who He was.
The New Testament provides accounts from multiple sources who witnessed Jesus firsthand after the resurrection. Jesus made at least 10 separate appearances to His disciples between the resurrection and his ascension into Heaven, over a period of 40 days. Some of those appearances were to individual disciples, some were to several disciples, and one was to some 500 at one time.
Particularly noteworthy is that there were no accounts of witnesses who came forth and disputed these appearances or called it a "hoax." Not a single one. Nor do we find any historical record of any witness accounts that were contradictory.
While there are skeptics of the biblical Jesus, there's far more reliable historical evidence for His life, teachings, miracles, death, and resurrection than for other leading historical figures of ancient times, such as literary greats Virgil and Horace and military kings like Alexander the Great. The veracity of ancient history revolves around three things: the number of eyewitness accounts, the lapse of time between the eyewitness events and the written record, and the number of surviving manuscripts of that record.
No one doubts Virgil and Horace lived and originated great poetic masterpieces a few decades before Christ, although the written manuscripts of their works were recorded more than 400 years after they had died. No one doubts the life and accomplishments of Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C., even though there are only two original biographers of his life, Arrian and Plutarch, who wrote their accounts some 400 years after Alexander died.
The eyewitness accounts of Jesus were recorded in writing within a generation of his life. And there are about 1,000 times more manuscripts that preserve the deeds and teachings of Jesus in the New Testament (about 25,000 total) than there are preserving other classical ancient works of historic figures who lived at the same time, with the exception of Homer, whose Iliad is backed by 1,800 manuscripts. But that is still less than one-tenth the number of ancient manuscripts that back the authenticity of the New Testament.
The Apostles' Witness
We know the historical Jesus through four different accounts known as the gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — not written hundreds of years later but within a generation or two of Jesus' life. Apostles Matthew and John provide eyewitness accounts from their years of walking with Jesus as disciples. Mark also had eyewitness experience, although he was only a teenager when Jesus began his public ministry. Luke, the doctor, learned about Jesus from his friend Paul, the apostle who wrote the most letters in the New Testament.
Because of their experience with the resurrected Jesus, the apostles were in a unique position, knowing with certainty that Jesus was truly the Son of God. They had been present for the life, ministry, miracles, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If the claims about Jesus were a lie, the apostles would have known it. That is why their commitment to their testimony was so powerful and compelling.
Additionally, the apostles' willingness to die for their claims has tremendous evidential value, also confirming the truth of the resurrection. No one will die for something he invented or believes to be false.
Seeing, talking to, and touching the risen Jesus transformed the apostles, who then committed the rest of their lives to educate and advocate for the truth about the message of salvation through Christ. Eleven of the 12 apostles, including Matthias who replaced Judas, the betrayer of Jesus, died as martyrs for their beliefs in the divinity of Christ. The twelfth, John, was exiled to Patmos Island, where he recorded the book of Revelation.
It turns out that Easter, which has its ultimate meaning in the resurrection, is one of ancient history's most scrutinized and best-attested events.
While the mind can recognize the truth of the story of Jesus, God's course from the cross through the resurrection and beyond is the transformation of the human heart, captured in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Easter is the commemoration and celebration of the single event — God's loving sacrifice for us — that has more power to transform the human heart for good and love than anything else.
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Scott Powell is senior fellow at Discovery Institute and a member of the Committee on the Present Danger-China. His recent book, "Rediscovering America," was the No. 1 Amazon New Release in the history genre for eight weeks. Reach him at scottp@discovery.org.
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Prince, Madonna, and Michael Jackson were all born within three months of each other.
Three Midwestern babies born in 1958 grew up to change the course of pop music and culture forever. Prince Rogers Nelson was born on June 7 in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Madonna Louise Ciccone was born on August 16 in Bay City, Michigan; and Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29 in Gary, Indiana. Each of the future genre-busting superstars was welcomed into a big family: Eventually, Prince had eight siblings, Madonna had seven, and Jackson had 10. Jackson was the first to begin his performing career, at age 5. Six years later, he made his television debut as the youngest member of the Jackson Five when the group sang "It's Your Thing" at the Miss Black America Pageant. Prince debuted at 21 on American Bandstand, singing "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"; Madonna made one of her earliest TV appearances on the same show four years later, performing "Holiday," and telling Dick Clark of her wish to "rule the world."
In addition to exhilarating music, era-defining music videos, and various business ventures, all three made films. Precocious Jackson appeared in the first movie of the group, 1978's The Wiz, a straight-from-Broadway reimagining of The Wizard of Oz featuring an all-Black cast (Jackson played the Scarecrow). In 1985 — the year Prince and Madonna briefly dated — Prince won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song Score for his first film, the semi-autobiographical Purple Rain. Meanwhile, shortly after Madonna (in a Marilyn Monroe-inspired look) took Jackson as her plus-one to the 1991 Academy Awards, she shot A League of Their Own, a tribute to the all-female baseball teams that entertained fans during World War II. (The so-called Queen of Reinvention has also appeared in dozens of other films over the years.)
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From the archives
Flying Black Ponies by Kit Lavell
Kit has made it to the Bubba Breakfast a number of times and I hope to see him again this Friday.
I have recommended this book for a few years since I met Kit Lavell the author. He is an old friend of Super Snyder. I talked to both of them yesterday about "Bubba Segars and both had more stories. But you all should dig out that book and read it.
If you have read Hell Hawks about the P-47 pilots in WWII that helped Patton charge across France into Germany then you will love this one.
Skip
Thanks to YP
YP
I have had FLYING BLACK PONIES, by Kit Lavell, in my Kindle "to read" bag for a long time. It deals with the Navy's very close air support in VietNam, flying OV-10 aircraft. I finally got started, and didn't get much further than The FORWARD by Stephen Coonts, and it is worth the price of the book, since it talks about warriors, which is largely verboten in today's pussy society. One of the OV-10 drivers that are the subject of the book is pictured below, Bubba Segars. He is a certified wild man, and he was part of the Skyhawk Association group that visited Israel in 2017. As a Flying Black Pony, he finally got bagged by a Strela about a mile from the beach and had to eject (my fading memory is that his back seater dinna make it). He landed among a bunch of very pissed off gomers, and he broke the existing 100 meter dash records on the way to the water, yelling on his radio. He was saved by an Army Huey driver just over the water, and he got extracted at the last moment, hanging onto a skid as they got the hell out as the AK's rattled away. I had the honor of hanging with him for our tour, and he dinna punch me out even once...
Where did we get such men? Stephen Coonts tells us that most of us who used to participate in real War Games were ordinary salt of the earth blokes who thot it was wot men did. I had to export his forward from my Kindle, and it is sketchy, but I hope readable.
Now, to the rest of the book.
YP
Begin forwarded message:
On 3/27/2017 3:43 PM, Terry Wolf wrote:
There are many Bubba Segars' stories floating around. He is the guy who armed his 20mm guns flying past Libya on his way to deliver an A-4 to you in 1973. I'm sure it ruined his whole day when they didn't launch against him. Why? He wanted to show Kadafi wot he thought of him. After landing his A-4 in Israel, the Israelis had the Star of David painted on his plane before he got out of the cockpit. He told the Israeli tech who first climbed up the ladder that his port gun jammed, and they told him they'd already fixed it. They were getting the plane ready for combat. They filled Bubba up to the brim with cold beers, and he was really unhappy the Israelis wouldn't let him go on the strike.
He is not very tall, but he has been known to make up for it by swinging hard and first. We had a guy in our squadron (Kip Burton) who was appointed as Bubba control officer. He was a gymnast in college and strong and quick. He more than once caught Bubba's fist in mid-air on its way to some unsuspecting jaw belonging to a guy who said the wrong thing to Bubba.
In my memory, he ejected from 3 different A-4's. The last while downwind at the ship during carrier qualifications. He claimed engine failure, and since the aircraft is at 50 fathoms who is to refute his claim? I forget the situation of number two, but the most famous is his air to air duel with a squadron mate which ended (as was inevitable) in a mid-air as neither would back down. Both pilots ejected and Bubba claimed victory as the other guy touched down in his chute first while the other guy claimed victory as Bubba's plane hit the ground first. Again, you can't make this stuff up.
There has been some discussion as to who will be Bubba control officer on this trip. The consensus is that he has probably mellowed at least a little, and his wife will be along and that will have a calming effect.
Terry
FORWARD:
One of the essential points of American military history often missed by students is that the people in the critical skill positions in all our wars were volunteers . The Americans who awaited the British soldiers at Lexington and Concord , gathered at Breed's Hill , wintered at Valley Forge , manned John Paul Jones's ships , and trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown were volunteers to a man . During the American Civil War , America had a draft of sorts , but the men who were responsible for victory or defeat were volunteers — U . S . Grant , Robert E . Lee , Joshua Chamberlain , the list goes on and on . Since the invention of the airplane , cockpits have been exclusively reserved for those who wanted to be there , those willing to put forth the effort and pay the price to earn their seat . Even in that most unpopular war , Vietnam , it was so . The men you will meet in this book were not the sons of the privileged elite . Their fathers were not senators , officers of major corporations , or decorated with inherited fortunes . They were from blue - collar or lower - middle - class backgrounds . They usually hailed from small towns or farms , had good but not spectacular educations , had fathers and uncles who served in World War II or Korea , and — universally — were patriots . Those who survived combat had their patriotism and faith in their fellow Americans tempered like fine steel . As you read this book , I invite you to speculate on the motivations that took these men to Vietnam , that put them in the cockpit of an OV - 10 Bronco — diving into the dragon's mouth with cannons blazing and rockets rippling off the wings . For some those days of combat were a grand adventure . No doubt testosterone was a part of the mix , but only a small part . Whatever the reasons that got them into that cockpit in Vietnam , once they were there , cold reality became impossible to ignore . The job was killing the enemy . The bullets were real . The game was brutal and bloody , played for keeps , and the stakes were human lives . Inevitably Americans died or were maimed for life . No one was immune . Life for them became very precious , tenuous ; the men around them were killed with awe - inspiring regularity , and yet , almost to a man , these young American warriors hung in there , gutted it out , kept fighting until a bullet found them or the navy sent them home . These aerial warriors were not unique . America sent tens of thousands of young men like them to Vietnam . To my mind , the fact that in times of crisis average Americans are willing to risk all they are and all they hope to be , fighting for their country , is one of the profound virtues of our Republic , a saving grace that redeems us from much of the pettiness , selfishness , and day - to - day greed that assault us at every turn . The stay - at - home , sunshine patriot has been with us always and , no doubt , always will . Yet America's continued existence as a free nation has always rested on its ability to produce men who would fight . The story of VAL - 4 , the Black Pony Squadron , is so stereotypical of American military operations as to be almost trite . Born of military necessity , opposed by many in the establishment because it didn't fit doctrine or the grand plan , approved reluctantly , the squadron was parsimoniously equipped with obsolete , borrowed airplanes and manned with youthful inexperience and proverbial black sheep . Amazingly , these men learned to fight and gave an extraordinary account of themselves . Kit Lavell puts you in the cockpit with the Black Ponies and takes you flying . It's a grand ride . Contained within these pages is the distilled essence of the American military experience . Regardless of what the establishment says or does with the billions of defense dollars that flow through Washington every year like a great river , this is the way America fights . Stephen Coonts
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This Day in U S Military History April 1
1945 – On Okinawa, American forces launch Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa. Two corps of the US 10th Army (General Buckner) land in the area of Hagushi, in the southwest of the island. US Task Force 51 (Admiral Turner) provides the 1,200 transports and landing ships including seven Coast Guard-manned transports, 29 LSTs, the cutters Bibb and Woodbine, and 12 LCI(L)s, with over 450,000 Army and Marine Corps personnel embarked. The troops landed are from US 3rd Amphibious Corps (Geiger) with US 6th and 1st Marine Divisions, on the left or northern flank, and 24th Corps (Hodge) with US 7th and 96th Infantry Divisions, on the right or southern flank. On land, US forces encounter almost no resistance on the first day and establish a beachhead three miles deep and nine miles wide. (Okinawa is 70 miles long and a maximum of 10 miles wide.) Kadena and Yontan airfields are captured. Japanese forces on the island, consisting of the 130,000 troops of the Japanese 32nd Army (General Ushijima), are entrenched in concealed positions and caves, mostly to the south of the American landing area along the Shuri Line. (There are also 450,000 civilians on the island.) At sea, US TF58 and TF54 as well as the British Pacific Fleet conduct air and naval bombardments. Japanese conventional and Kamikaze air strikes hit the battleship USS West Virginia, and the carrier, HMS Indomitable, along with eight other ships.
It will take 82 brutal days to secure the Island…skip
1952 – Air Force Colonel Francis S. Gabreski, flying his F-86 Sabre "Gabby" out of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, became the eighth ace of the Korean War and the third ranking U.S. ace of all time. Colonel Gabreski achieved a total of 37.5 aerial victories, including five in Korea. Air Force F-86 Sabres scored their second greatest victory of the war, shooting down 10 MiGs confirmed with two others probable.
1954 – U.S. Air Force Academy was founded in Colorado. President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill authorizing the establishment of an Air Force Academy, similar to West Point and Annapolis. On July 11, 1955, the first class was sworn in at Lowry Air Force Base. The academy moved to a permanent site near Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1958.
My dad was stationed at Lowry for a few months and I got to tour the AF Academy at Lowrey with my class. I remember going into a lab where they were experimenting with lasers. Very cool. Also went to Colorado Springs and saw the new academy under construction. The church was being built and was very impressive…..Skip
1972 – Following three days of the heaviest artillery and rocket bombardment of the war, between 12,000 and 15,000 soldiers of Hanoi's 304th Division–supported by tanks, artillery, and antiaircraft units equipped with surface-to-air missiles–sweep across the Demilitarized Zone. They routed the South Vietnamese 3rd Division and drove them toward their rear bases. This attack was the opening move of the North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive (later called the "Easter Offensive"), a massive invasion by North Vietnamese forces designed to strike the blow that would win them the war. The attacking force included 14 infantry divisions and 26 separate regiments, with more than 120,000 troops and approximately 1,200 tanks and other armored vehicles. The main North Vietnamese objectives, in addition to Quang Tri in the north, were Kontum in the Central Highlands, and An Loc farther to the south. North Vietnam had a number of objectives in launching the offensive: impressing the communist world and its own people with its determination; capitalizing on U.S. antiwar sentiment and possibly hurting President Richard Nixon's chances for re-election; proving that "Vietnamization" was a failure; damaging the South Vietnamese forces and government stability; gaining as much territory as possible before a possible truce; and accelerating negotiations on their own terms. Initially, the South Vietnamese defenders were almost overwhelmed, particularly in the northernmost provinces, where they abandoned their positions in Quang Tri and fled south in the face of the enemy onslaught. At Kontum and An Loc, the South Vietnamese were more successful in defending against the attacks, but only after weeks of bitter fighting. Although the South Vietnamese suffered heavy casualties, they managed to hold their own with the aid of U.S. advisors and American airpower. Fighting continued all over South Vietnam into the summer months, but eventually the South Vietnamese forces prevailed against the invaders and retook Quang Tri in September. With the communist invasion blunted, President Nixon declared that the South Vietnamese victory proved the viability of his Vietnamization program, instituted in 1969 to increase the combat capability of the South Vietnamese armed forces.
1975 – More than half of South Vietnam's territory is now controlled by the North. Communist forces begin the envelopment of Saigon, coming in from the south, threatening Highway 4, Saigon's connection ot the Mekong Delta.
1982 – The U.S. transferred the Canal Zone to Panama.
2001 – A US Navy EP-3 surveillance plane with 24 aboard collided with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea and was forced to land on China's Hainan island. The fighter jet crashed. Chinese pilot Wang Wei parachuted out of his F-8 jet but had not been found. Zhao Yu, a 2nd pilot, later blamed the US plane banked and hit Wei's plane.
2002 – A SF Court of Appeals ordered the US government to pay out millions of dollars in retroactive disability benefits to Vietnam veterans with prostate cancer, who were exposed to Agent Orange.
2002 – Eight Army soldiers and two Air Force pararescuers are killed when an Army MH-47 Special Forces Chinook helicopter crashes in the southern Philippines, in the ocean waters just off the coast of the south-central city of Dumaguete.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BEIKIRCH, GARY B.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces. Place and date: Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 1 April 1970. Entered service at: Buffalo, N.Y. Born: 29 August 1947, Rochester, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Beikirch, medical aidman, Detachment B-24, Company B, distinguished himself during the defense of Camp Dak Seang. The allied defenders suffered a number of casualties as a result of an intense, devastating attack launched by the enemy from well-concealed positions surrounding the camp. Sgt. Beikirch, with complete disregard for his personal safety, moved unhesitatingly through the withering enemy fire to his fallen comrades, applied first aid to their wounds and assisted them to the medical aid station. When informed that a seriously injured American officer was lying in an exposed position, Sgt. Beikirch ran immediately through the hail of fire. Although he was wounded seriously by fragments from an exploding enemy mortar shell, Sgt. Beikirch carried the officer to a medical aid station. Ignoring his own serious injuries, Sgt. Beikirch left the relative safety of the medical bunker to search for and evacuate other men who had been injured. He was again wounded as he dragged a critically injured Vietnamese soldier to the medical bunker while simultaneously applying mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to sustain his life. Sgt. Beikirch again refused treatment and continued his search for other casualties until he collapsed. Only then did he permit himself to be treated. Sgt. Beikirch's complete devotion to the welfare of his comrades, at the risk of his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
LEMON, PETER C.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company E, 2d Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. place and date: Tay Ninh province, Republic of Vietnam, 1 April 1970. Entered service at: Tawas City, Mich. Born: 5 June 1950, Toronto, Canada. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Lemon (then Sp4c.), Company E, distinguished himself while serving as an assistant machine gunner during the defense of Fire Support Base Illingworth. When the base came under heavy enemy attack, Sgt. Lemon engaged a numerically superior enemy with machine gun and rifle fire from his defensive position until both weapons malfunctioned. He then used hand grenades to fend off the intensified enemy attack launched in his direction. After eliminating all but 1 of the enemy soldiers in the immediate vicinity, he pursued and disposed of the remaining soldier in hand-to-hand combat. Despite fragment wounds from an exploding grenade, Sgt. Lemon regained his position, carried a more seriously wounded comrade to an aid station, and, as he returned, was wounded a second time by enemy fire. Disregarding his personal injuries, he moved to his position through a hail of small arms and grenade fire. Sgt. Lemon immediately realized that the defensive sector was in danger of being overrun by the enemy and unhesitatingly assaulted the enemy soldiers by throwing hand grenades and engaging in hand-to-hand combat. He was wounded yet a third time, but his determined efforts successfully drove the enemy from the position. Securing an operable machine gun, Sgt. Lemon stood atop an embankment fully exposed to enemy fire, and placed effective fire upon the enemy until he collapsed from his multiple wounds and exhaustion. After regaining consciousness at the aid station, he refused medical evacuation until his more seriously wounded comrades had been evacuated. Sgt. Lemon's gallantry and extraordinary heroism, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for April 1 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
1 April
1918: American Aviation Headquarters opened in Rome, Italy, and a definite agreement made with the Italians for training of American pilots. (24)
1941: The US and Mexico signed an agreement providing for reciprocal transit of military aircraft through the territory of the two countries. (24)
1942: Air Corps Proving Ground became Proving Ground Command with its main base at Eglin Field.
1945: BATTLE OF OKINAWA. The Tenth Army's main landing occurred at Okinawa's Hagushi beaches. The Marine III Amphibious Corps landed on the left, and quickly overran Yontan airfield. The Army's XXIV Corps captured Kadena airfield and then turned right and met the main Japanese defensive line, called the Machinato Line. Twentieth Air Force bombers, operating from the Marianas, devoted about 75 percent of their April effort to bombing airfields on Kyushu and Shikoku Islands to diminish the Kamikaze threat. (17)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Fifth Air Force Sabre pilots destroyed ten MiGs while losing one F-86. In the battle, Col Francis S. Gabreski, the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing Commander, destroyed a MiG to become the eighth jet ace of the war. (28)
1954: Lt Cmdr Francis X. Brady (USN) caught some strong tail winds and set a transcontinental speed record for jets in an F9F-8 Cougar. He flew the 2,438 miles from San Diego to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 3 hours 45 minutes 30 seconds. (9) (24)
1958: SAC activated its first ICBM squadron, the 576 SMS, for the Atlas missile at Cooke AFB (renamed Vandenberg on 4 October 1958). It had two "soft" launch complexes, one with three gantries and the other with three above ground coffin launchers, for the Atlas D. (6) (12)
1960: From Cape Canaveral the TIROS I, the first picture-taking weather-reconnaissance satellite, launched on a Thor-Able rocket into an orbit expected to last for 50 to 100 years. In the 78-day life of its instruments, the TIROS transmitted almost 23,000 pictures. (21) (24) SAC activated its first Atlas E squadron, the 567 SMS, at Fairchild AFB. (6)
1961: SAC activated its first Atlas F squadrons, the 550 SMS at Schilling AFB, Kans., and 551 SMS at Lincoln AFB, Nebr. (6)
1962: The USAF made the Air Weather Service the single manager for aerial sampling aircraft. (18)
1965: SAC took its last Titan I missiles off alert with the 569 SMS at Mountain Home AFB to complete the operational phaseout of this weapon system. (6)
1966: The last of 14 operational centers comprising the BUIC II dispersed, automatic weapons control system completed for ADC. SAC activated its last Minuteman squadron, the 564 SMS, at Malmstrom AFB. (1) (6)
1968: President Johnson halted the bombing of N. Vietnam above 20 degrees north latitude, changing the bombing line to north of 19 degrees, effective 4 April. He expected North Vietnam to act in good faith and de-escalate. The N. Vietnamese, however, used the halt period for restoration and reconstruction, the reinforcement of air defenses, and the movement of more material and troops to the south. (17)
1970: OCTAVE CHANUTE AWARD. Maj Jerauld R. Gentry received this Award for outstanding achievements as the Air Force's X-24 Lifting Body project officer. (3) SAC placed the command and control of all strategic missiles under Fifteenth Air Force. (16) AFSC combined the Air Force Western Test Range at Vandenberg AFB and two aerospace test wings to form the Space and Missile Test Center under the Space and Missile Organization (SAMSO). (16)
1972: PACAF inactivated the 20 SOS, and its UH-1N helicopter gunships were shipped back to the U.S. (17)
1976: USAFE activated the 527th Tactical Fighter Aggressor Squadron at RAF Alconbury to conduct dissimilar air combat tactics training for fighter and reconnaissance aircrews. (26)
1983: Through 8 April, a MAC C-130 airlifted 34 tons of shelters, medical supplies, generators, and floodlights from Panama to Southwestern Colombia to aid earthquake victims. (16) Through 1 May, the Air Force transferred 31 SAC units and four bases to AFSPACE, which assumed control over missile warning and space surveillance systems. (16) (26)
1985: The Minuteman Integrated Life Extension Program (Rivet Mile) began at the 341 SMW at Malmstrom AFB. (1)
1992: A 437 AW C-141 Starlifter from Charleston AFB dropped 115 barrels of helicopter aviation fuel to a floating American-Russian ice station in Antarctica. The drop allowed the $9 million joint scientific effort to continue its efforts. The C-141 flew 7,000 miles from Charleston AFB to Howard AFB and on to Punta Arenas, Chile, before flying 1,200 nautical miles to the ice flow. A KC-135R from SAC's 340 AREFW at Altus AFB accompanied the Starlifter and provided two refuelings (16) (18)
1997: At Langley AFB, Gen Richard E. Hawley, the ACC Commander, announced the initial operational capability of the 509 BW's B-2A Spirit at Whiteman AFB after earlier, successful tests of the JDAM and the GPS-Aided Munition (GAM). (21) The USAF transferred all operational C-130s from ACC to Air Mobility Command, except for the 314 AW and its C-130 schoolhouse. Those units went to Air Education and Training Command (AETC). (21) The 375 AW at Scott AFB regained control of C-21 flying operations in the US, when the USAF consolidated 8 C-21 units at various bases into two airlift squadrons and one wing. The reorganization standardized C-21 operations with the 458 AS operating from Scott and the 457 AS from Andrews AFB. Each squadron had three airlift flights based at other USAF installations in the US. (22)
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