To All,
Good Saturday Morning April 6, 2025.. The rain came and did its thing well into the night. Today is had dawned with clear skies and it is expected be that way for a week. We shall see. When it dries out it is back to the weed whacker. I hope your weekend is a good one wherever you are.
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 6
1776 The Continental Navy Squadron, commanded by Commodore Esek Hopkins, is attacked by the British frigate HMS Glasgow and her tender while entering Long Island Sound.
1862 Naval gunfire from gunboats Tyler and Lexington protect the advanced river flank of Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army at the Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing).
1909 Cmdr. Robert E. Peary reports reaching the North Pole, dropping a note in a glass bottle into a crevice in the ice that states: "I have this day hoisted the national ensign of the United States of America at this place, which my observations indicate to be the North Polar axis of the earth, and have formally taken possession of the entire region, and adjacent, for and in the name of the President of the United States of America."
1917 Following the sinking of U.S. merchant vessels by German U-boats, the U.S. declares war on Germany, entering World War.
1945 The first heavy kamikaze attacks begin on ships at Okinawa. USS Bush (DD 529), USS Colhoun (DD 801), USS Emmons (DMS 22) and LST 447 are damaged beyond repair.
1945 USAAF B-25s attack Japanese convoy HOMO-03 and destroy a Japanese destroyer, minesweeper, a cargo ship and other ships. USS Besugo (SS 321) and USS Hardhead (SS 365) also sink Japanese ships.
1968 USS New Jersey (BB 62) is recommissioned for shore bombardment duty at Vietnam.
2013 The commissioning ceremony for USS Arlington (LPD 24) is held at Naval Station Norfolk, the ship's homeport. The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship joins sister ships USS New York and Somerset to be named for the sites attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. Steel salvaged from the Pentagon, based in Arlington, are showcased in the ship's museum.
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On this day in World history (April 6):
1199 English King Richard I is killed by an arrow at the Siege of the Castle of Chalus in France.
1789 The First U.S. Congress begins regular sessions at Federal Hall in New York City.
1814 Granted sovereignty in the island of Elba and a pension from the French government, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates at Fontainebleau. He is allowed to keep the title of emperor.
1830 Joseph Smith and five others organize the Church of Latter-Day Saints in Seneca, New York.
1862 Confederate forces attack General Ulysses S. Grant at Shiloh, Tennessee.
1865 At the Battle of Sailer's Creek, a third of Lee's army is cut off by Union troops pursuing him to Appomattox.
1896 The Modern Olympics begin in Athens with eight nations participating.
1903 French Army Nationalists are revealed to have forged documents to guarantee a conviction for Alfred Dreyfus.
1909 Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson become the first men to reach the North Pole.
1917 The United States declares war on Germany and enters World War I on Allied side.
1924 Four planes leave Seattle on the first successful flight around the world.
1938 The United States recognizes Nazi Germany's conquest of Austria.
1941 German forces invade Greece and Yugoslavia.
1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson authorizes the use of ground troops in combat operations.
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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 "Saturday 6 April
6 https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2524
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 Woody whose note below I received yesterday…..skip[
Frank, I hope this finds you and your family well. I really appreciate The List you forward. There is a lot of great info and stories.
The articles in this edition about Vietnam were particularly interesting to me. Several years ago at the end of the annual Navy symposium at Pensacola NAS (Held in the Blue Angels atrium), the folks on the stage invited anyone in the audience to speak at a microphone they had set up. Three of them on stage were at Vinh Long in the delta during TET 1968: 2 Seawolf gunship pilots and a crew chief.
I took the opportunity to say a few words. I had been in country less than three weeks, flying Birddogs and was duty officer that night. We always had a birddog in the air at night looking for bad guys and mortar fire, however, all our aircraft were on the ground due to a 200 foot solid overcast. At 0312, we received between 200-250 mortar rounds and a ground attack. We didn't know it, but the VC had already penetrated our perimeter and were in some of the revetments with satchel charges and automatic weapons. I will tell you I honestly thought I would never see the sun rise again. After a lot of fierce close combat, we finally stopped most of the bad guys and they retreated to just outside our perimeter just before daybreak. Although it was barely light with still a 200 foot solid overcast, and surrounded by a still large VC force, the Seawolf gunships saddled up and took off, flying at treetop level for the next several hours. I don't know if they ever figured weight and balance, but with a full load of ammo and balls the size of watermelons, they had to be well over gross. But they saved our assess. I don't know if any of them received any medals, but if they did, it still wasn't enough to compensate for what they did. All of us at Vinh Long will be eternally grateful to some gutsy Seawolves on that day, 56 years ago.
If there is any way you could send my comments to whoever publishes The List, I would appreciate it if my story can be told. I have the greatest respect for those guys.
By the way, there was a sizable Riverine Force there also that gave us great support. I actually water skied behind one of the PBR's -- What the Hell was I thinking? Oh well, 21 years old and invincible! (This was before Tet). I also flew cover for many of the riverine forces in my Birddog. They ran into a lot of crap with a lot of close in fighting. Again, the weight and balance issue arose - heavily armed and balls the size of watermelons!
My children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have heard this story - they have come to appreciate that they are alive thanks to the Navy.
Woody
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Thanks to Nice News
Why are some people left-handed?
In addition to their fame, Babe Ruth, Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, and David Bowie have something else in common: left-handedness. This trait is quite rare, though, as only about 10% of the population are southpaws, according to one meta-analysis. But why, and how?
A new study published in the journal Nature Communications has shed light on this mystery, specifically the potential genetic component of being left-handed. Researchers discovered that rare variants of a gene called TUBB4B, which is involved in controlling cell shape, are 2.7 times more prevalent in lefties. Researchers think these variants might therefore play a role in how our brains develop and determine which hand we prefer to use.
"Most people have left-hemisphere dominance for language, and right-hemisphere dominance for tasks that require directing visual attention to a location in space," senior author Clyde Francks told Reuters. "In most people, the left hemisphere also controls the dominant right hand. The relevant nerve fibers cross from left-to-right in the lower part of the brain. In left-handers, the right hemisphere is in control of the dominant hand. The question is: What causes the asymmetry of the brain to develop differently in left-handers?"
Francks and his fellow scientists have only just begun to answer that question but note that their research could have implications beyond left versus right-handedness, specifically in the field of psychiatry.
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Thanks to the Smithsonian
Archaeologists Unearth Egyptian Queen's Tomb, 13-Foot 'Book of the Dead' Scroll
The team also discovered dozens of sarcophagi, wooden masks and ancient board games
Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed a cache of treasures—including more than 50 wooden sarcophagi, a funerary temple dedicated to an Old Kingdom queen and a 13-foot-long Book of the Dead scroll—at the Saqqara necropolis, a vast burial ground south of Cairo, according to a statement from the country's Ministry of Tourism and Antiques.
As first reported by Al-Ahram, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass and his colleagues discovered the coffins, which appear to date back to the New Kingdom era (1570–1069 B.C.), in 52 burial shafts measuring 33 to 40 feet deep. Paintings of ancient gods and excerpts from the Book of the Dead, which was thought to help the deceased navigate the afterlife, adorn the sarcophagi.
Hawass tells CBS News' Ahmed Shawkat that researchers first started excavating the site, which stands next to the pyramid of King Teti, first of the Sixth Dynasty rulers of the Old Kingdom (2680–2180 B.C.), in 2010.
"[B]ut we didn't find a name inside the pyramid to tell us who the pyramid belonged to," he adds.
Now, reports Agence France-Presse, experts have finally identified the complex—which boasts a stone temple and three mud-brick warehouses that housed offerings and tools—as the tomb of Teti's wife, Queen Naert. Around a month ago, the team found Naert's name etched onto a wall in the temple and written on a felled obelisk near the entrance of the burial, per CBS News.
"I'd never heard of this queen before," Hawass says to CBS News. "Therefore, we add an important piece to Egyptian history, about this queen."
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One of the artifacts discovered at Saqqara Courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiques
According to the statement, this is the first time archaeologists have unearthed 3,000-year-old coffins at Saqqara—one of Egypt's "richest archaeological sites," as Jo Marchant wrote for Smithsonian magazine last year. In recent months, excavations at the necropolis have yielded an array of exciting, albeit newer, finds, from sealed sarcophagi to ancient statues.
"Actually, this morning we found another shaft," Hawass told CBS News on Monday. "Inside the shaft we found a large limestone sarcophagus. This is the first time we've discovered a limestone sarcophagus inside the shafts. We found another one that we're going to open a week from now."
The coffins found in the burial shafts probably hold the remains of followers of a Teti-worshipping cult formed after the pharaoh's death, writes Owen Jarus for Live Science. Experts think that the cult operated for more than 1,000 years; members would have considered it an honor to be entombed near the king.
Other highlights of the discovery include a set of wooden masks; a shrine to the god Anubis; bird-shaped artifacts; games including Senet, which was believed to offer players a glimpse into the afterlife; a bronze ax; paintings; hieroglyphic writings; and fragments of a 13-foot-long, 3-foot-wide papyrus containing Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead. The name of the scroll's owner, Pwkhaef, is inscribed on the papyrus, as well as on one sarcophagus and four sculptures, according to Live Science.
These finds, notes the statement, as translated by CNN's Amy Woodyatt, "will rewrite the history of this region, especially during the 18th and 19th dynasties of the New Kingdom, during which King Teti was worshiped, and the citizens at that time were buried around his pyramid."
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Jimmy's Kitchen in Hong Kong
Tag sent me a note yesterday about being in Hong Kong and that was his excuse for missing the Bubbsa breakfast. So I asked him if Jimmy's Kitchen was still there and this is his answer.
Jimmy's Kitchen is back – but will Hong Kong give one of its most iconic restaurants of old a second chance?
• Jimmy's Kitchen has reopened in Central's Pedder Building with a new look, slimmed-down menu and comprehensive wine list
• Some signature items have survived, such as the chicken supreme Kiev and baked Alaska, but others, such as the oysters Kilpatrick, are noticeably absent
We'd had fun from the 1960s to the 90s, but with more world-famous chefs opening Michelin-star restaurants in Hong Kong, the city outgrew the localized versions of European dishes that Jimmy's offered.
By the time of its closing, the 92-year-old restaurant no longer stood for sophisticated dining as it did decades ago.
We were sad to see it go, but thought it was for the best.
I wonder how many of those tailor shops are still operating that we would order new suits and other things…skip
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JOTS
Thanks to Dale
Skip,
Saw the piece in today's List from Lee. Brought back memories for me. I was the N-4 on Jerry Tuttle's CTF-60 Staff during the Marine Barracks bombing. We had just finished Ike's cruise and were crossdecking to Indy. SLUF, Tuttle's Call Sign, had a few pieces of special equipment to go with us. SLUF had a big background in intel and knew where everything was located. We had a couple of commercial Watkins Johnson receivers that went in the SAS spaces and two HP 1000 mini computers that ran JOTS, which stood for the Jerry O Tuttle's System, which later became GOTS and eventually GCSS-M. He was close to tht two guys that ran INRI and even had them aboard once. I think Northrop Grumman bought INRI in the early 2000s. Yup they bought us in 1998/9 skip
His admonish to me was "If this stuff goes overboard, dive in after it!" Their have been many characters in Naval Aviation, but few if any more so than SLUF, may he RIP .
Runt
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
7 Buzzing Facts About Bees
For thousands of years, humans have appreciated the sometimes-small, sometimes-bumbling bees that pollinate our crops and craft our honey. We've raised them in hives, featured them in art, and launched all-out campaigns to protect against colony collapse disorder, in which adult honeybees abandon the hive. Whether you're a fan of the fuzzy, buzzing pollinators or happen to suffer from apiphobia (the fear of bees), these facts will give you a glimpse into their tiny yet fascinating world.
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Bees Have Assigned Jobs
Wild honeybee colonies vary in size, but the average hive managed by human beekeepers includes anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000 bees, so it makes sense that these productive creatures have their own version of a chore chart. Each bee has its own role: Queens can lay thousands of eggs per day, while the worker bees cycle through various roles depending on their age. Some act as architects — using their wax glands to build honeycombs and more — and some will become foragers, who leave the hive to scout for nectar. Some bees even have the job of insect undertaker, removing dead residents to keep the hive clean and healthy.
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Most Bees Are Female
Bees can be incredibly cooperative. Those that live in hives (like Apis mellifera, aka the honey bee) work together to build their homes, produce honey, and perform other necessary tasks. But most of these jobs are assigned to worker bees, who are all female and greatly outnumber drones, who are male and don't actually do any work. In an efficiently running hive, drones are as little as 10% of the population. Another downside for male bees? Among most species, they can't sting. Yet the drones play their part by leaving the community to mate with other queens, an important task for species biodiversity.
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Bees Love Caffeine (Just Like Humans)
If you're over-caffeinated and overworked, you might be more like a bee than you realize. Research into how bees handle caffeine suggests that the stimulating chemical may help them pollinate more quickly and efficiently. In one study, caffeine-fed bees located and pollinated flowers faster than those working without a perk-up, which could be why some plants produce small amounts of caffeine to attract pollinators. But apiologists — bee scientists — have determined that caffeine also caused confusion among bees: They were more likely to rank caffeine-laced nectar as a better food source, even though it has no nutritional benefits over plain nectar.
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Most Bees Are Solitary
Not all bees are social creatures; some live their entire lives as solo pollinators that burrow their homes in the ground instead of living in hives. Solitary bees are actually more common than hive bees, making up around 75% of all species. And these lonesome workers are incredibly important for ecosystems worldwide. Native bees are mostly solitary, and pollinate about 80% of the world's plants — more than any other insect. (There are about 4,000 native bee species in the U.S.; notably, honey bees aren't one of them, since Apis mellifera were introduced from Europe.)
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Bees Can Vote
Despite their microscopic brains — smaller than a grain of rice — bees are able to grasp complex social concepts like voting. Although hives are led by a queen, some decisions are made by the entire swarm, including relocating the hive to a new home. Older bees first scout for new real estate, sharing their top picks with other bees by dancing (their "waggle dancing" actually gives other bees directions to the site). More scouts will observe the recommended spot, then return to the hive to vote either for or against it with their own dance. With each wave of research, more and more bees vote by performing enthusiastic dances that give feedback until the entire hive agrees — displayed in a large-scale dance that signals consensus.
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Carpenter Bees Don't Actually Eat Wood
Big, bumbling carpenter bees resemble bumblebees in size, but they leave behind holes in wooden siding, benches, and other timber structures. Known for their ability to chew through wood, carpenter bees are often considered a nuisance. But they don't eat wood the way termites do (they eat nectar instead). Amazingly, these bees bore holes purposefully and efficiently, creating tunnels that can be reused year after year for hibernation and other purposes. Female carpenter bees drill through wood, excavating chambers that act as nurseries for bee eggs; adult bees stock each tunnel with "bee bread," a doughy food for new hatchlings, before sealing off the tunnel. Young bees emerging from their home will spend the summer feeding on nectar before returning to the tunnels they were born in to survive the winter.
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Humans Have Observed Bees for a Long Time
Thanks to honey, humans have had an interest in studying bees for some time, though some of our earlier observations were rather outlandish. Take, for example, Aristotle's first writings about bees, which show the Greek philosopher believed they were created by flowers and that the queen bee was actually a king. And in the 1600s, beekeeping guides recommended making new bees by leaving slain livestock in a closed room to generate a new swarm. Today, we know that these theories are untrue, but also how incredibly important bees are to our habitats and food systems — which is part of why scientists work to keep uncovering new details about our pollinating partners.
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Some humor from the archives
Thanks to YP, Dr. Rich, Eagle
SEAGULL-O-RAMA
Naval Aviator's Dictionary:
"Seagull: he who hates to fly and squawks ("Bock - Bock") like hell when he has to, especially at night."
The only thing the R.J.O.A. (Reserve Junior Officers Association) enjoyed more than a really good bolter, seen from the vantage point of the P.L.A.T. in the ready room, was to have some poor soul down an airplane before a launch without a really good reason, i.e, aircraft suffered unexplainable thermal melt- down right there on the flight deck before the preflight... Since everybody knew that all an A-4 needed to launch was a motor, a wing, and some wheels, anybody actually downing a plane was tried and convicted of Seagullismo.
Especially on your dark and stormy nights, those R.J.O.A. safely in the ready room saw to it that some sort of cartoon questioning the downer's masculinity graced the blackboard. When the downer either slunk or blustered in, he was pelted with popcorn kernels from the fifty pound bag by the movie projector and assailed with "Bock! Bock! Bock!"-- The cry of the Seagull. Of course, if it was someone who could really have your ass like the Skipper or X.0., The R.J.O.A. was usually less overt.
So it was that on this cruise, the Airwing was joined with a squadron of Jarheads so top-heavy in rank that their skipper was actually senior to the CAG. Their heavies, the Colonel, his X.O, and the Ops officer, Major Mother, were showing the way to rest of the squadron, who were just shinier versions of the Navy junior officers, before they mucked off to Chu Ly or some other garden spot.
So it was that Puresome (YP !) was not on the night schedule, but his pals Weed and Worm were. That suited Puresome, because it was not nice out, and because Ready Six was supposed to be screening "Bike Dykes from Hell," one of his sentimental favorites. Thus was he spared.
Aircraft had been manned for the launch and had turned up. In the red gloom, aviators ran through their post-start checks. As they finished, they checked in to Pri-Fly with their status.
"Sidewinder 411, on deck and up."
"Jolly Roger 203, on deck and up."
"Sidewinder 409, on deck and up." And so on.
Then, "Guntrain, Jarboon 301, I think I'm gonna be down..."
"Roger, Jarboon 301, keep us advised.'
"Guntrain, Jarboon 301, probably maybe gonna be down, bubbles in the wet compass....." "Roger, Jarboon."
"Guntrain, Jarboon 301 is definitely down."
"Roger, Jarboon 301, understand....
"Bock!...Bock! Bock!...Bock!" interrupted the radio.
"...You're ("Bock! Bock! Bockedy bock!") down," Guntrain doggedly replied through the bocks.
"Bockeddy bock bock bock!"
"Who said that? Whooo said that," came the Colonel's voice from Jarboon 301, "I want to know who said that right now!"
"Bock!" came out of the ether.
And so the launch launched without Jarboon 301, and the Col. bee-lined it to the CAG office and YOU WILL'ED the CAG that he (a) find (b) eviscerate (c) descrote the Phantom Bocker to restore the honor of the Corps.
The CAG had been a Phantom puke in his previous life, and all those hours squinting at his scope had given him a devious slant on situational awareness. Looking at the squadrons involved in the launch, he quickly eliminated everyone except the Sidewinders, who were known to have an unruly element. It was child's play to see which Sidewinders were flying and quickly settle on either Worm or Weed.
Both Worm and Weed, it turns out, were bockers. Secure in the anonymity of the airwaves, their strength was as the strength of ten as they successfully completed their practice CCA's and trapped back aboard.
Weed repaired to the dirty shirt wardroom, downed four or five Sliders and a quart or so of bug juice, and so repaired to the rack.
Worm, however, was a restless night stalker, and, being an LSO with CAG office privileges, was there reading messages when CAG walked in. Military courtesies were rendered. CAG acted if nothing was amiss and started doing CAG stuff, though actually positioning himself for a down-the-throat Fox-one. Worm, however, with ex-Navcad cunning, realized he was being stalked, and was ready when the shot came.
"Nossir, I don't know anything about any bocks. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it," Worm smoothly lied through his even, white teeth.
Though physical torture wasn't out of the question, CAG tabled that for later, since he still had one suspect to go. He resolved that, since direct frontal assault hadn't worked, to sneak in from six o'clock.
Came the dawn, and Weed was up and at 'em only in name. Being only truly happy in the air or in the rack, Weed was in neither state since he had to wave an early launch. So it was that his mind was clouded when he wondered into the CAG office. Nothing seemed amiss. Yeo-persons scuttled about, staff pukes were doing staff puke stuff, and CAG was administering. Weed bumbled about looking for the LSO book.
"You were pretty funny with them bocks last night," CAG slyly addressed Weed from over the tops of his granny glasses.
"Yup, I sure was," absently replied Weed, whose considerable intelligence was temporarily on sabbatical to the University of Mars.
"Gotcha!" Exclaimed CAG, as his missile tracked and flew up Weed's tailpipe and exploded.
It may not have been darkness, decay, and the Red Death that descended on Weed's dominion, but it was close. It was junior officer Fu.
But as usually happens in such cases, in the ages since, the legend has been passed on by the R.J.O.A. that the Phantom Bocker did not die, but escaped into the voids of the ship, to awaiting dark and stormy nights as the Seagull's worst nightmare.
Begin forwarded message:
Eagle,
For my 1966 Med Cruise, the Least Coast had run out of Scoot squadrons, so Brand X with VA-86 was a Jarboon outfit, whose Skipper was senior to theCAG! They were a COLORFUL outfit, too; their OPS O was Major Mother, who sadly flew that way. I wrote one of my first HOOK stories, SEAGULLS - (hates to fly, squawks like hell when he has to) about the Jarboon Skipper.
I did my Scoot Day/night CARQUALS on FDR in early 1965; they were having lots of engineering casualties even then.
YP
On Apr 5, 2023, at 8:16 AM, eaglesnest4818@yahoo.com wrote:
Circa 1976, we in VF-51 and CAG 19 from the West coast were "awarded" the wonderful opportunity to make the 4th annual final cruise of FDR from Mayport. Turned out to be the actual last cruise. We hit a Liberian Tanker in the Strait of Mesina and instead of repairing the bow, they poured concrete in the hole and scrapped the ship on return.
Our 6 month deployment was expanded to 9 months because of the work ups across the country. Neither AIRLANT or AIRPAC could come up with an A-6 squadron to send with us. Ergo as a consolation prize we got a USMC Harrier Squadron out of Cherry Point. Interesting to say the least. Turns out the Marine CO was actually senior to our CAG, who will go unnamed for the purposes of this anecdote. They were colorful indeed.
Ah the memories.
EAGLE
I did a cruise on FDR in 71 in the Med.
The Filthy Dirty and Rusty as it was called managed to remain seaworthy for the entire cruise. Skip
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This Day in U S Military History…….April 6
1909 – Explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson became the first men to reach the North Pole along with 4 Eskimos. The claim, disputed by skeptics, was upheld in 1989 by the Navigation Foundation. Robert E. Peary used Ellesmere Island as a base for his expedition to the North Pole. The north coast of Ellesmere lies just 480 miles from the Pole. He was accompanied by Matthew Henson, an African-American, who had spent 18 years in the Arctic with Peary.
1938 – Roy Plunkett, a DuPont researcher in New Jersey, discovered the polymer, polytetrafluoroethylene, later known as teflon.
1945 – On Okinawa, the US 3rd Amphibious Corps continues to advance in the north, but the US 24th Corps is held by Japanese forces along the first defenses of the Shuri Line. There are numerous Kamikaze attacks on shipping during the day, as part of Operation Kikusui. The aircraft carriers USS Jacinto and HMS Illustrious are hit as well as 25 other ships including 10 small warships.
1945 – During World War II, the Japanese warship Yamato and nine other vessels sailed on a suicide mission to attack the U.S. fleet off Okinawa; the fleet was intercepted the next day.
1968 – The 77 day siege of Khe San is officially relieved when elements of the 1st Cavalry (Airmobile) Division link up with Marines.
2001 – US officials announced some progress toward the release of 24 military personnel in China and hoped to establish a joint US-China commission to examine the April 1 collision of a US spy plane and Chinese jet.
2003 – US forces near Baghdad reportedly found a weapons cache of around 20 medium-range Rockets, BM-21 missiles, equipped with sarin and mustard gas and "ready to fire." David Bloom (39), NBC correspondent, died of a pulmonary embolism south of Baghdad.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
LANE, MORGAN D.
Rank and organization: Private, Signal Corps, U.S. Army. Place and date: Near Jetersville, Va., 6 April 1865. Entered service at: Allegany Mich. Birth: Monroe, N.Y. Date of issue: 16 March 1866. Citation Capture of flag of gunboat Nansemond.
LANFARE, AARON S.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, Company B, 1st Connecticut Cavalry. Place and date: At Sailors Creek, Va., 6 April 1865. Entered service at: Branford, Conn. Birth: Branford, Conn. Date of issue: 3 May 1865. Citation: Capture of flag of 11th Florida Infantry (C.S.A.).
LARIMER, SMITH
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company G, 2d Ohio Cavalry. Place and date: At Sailors Creek, Va., 6 April 1865. Entered service at: Columbus, Ohio. Birth: Richland County, Ohio. Date of issue: 3 May 1865. Citation: Capture of flag of General Kershaw's headquarters.
MATTOCKS, CHARLES P.
Rank and organization: Major, 17th Maine Infantry. Place and date: At Sailors Creek, Va., 6 April 1865. Entered service at: Portland, Maine. Born: 1840, Danville, Vt. Date of issue: 29 March 1899. Citation: Displayed extraordinary gallantry in leading a charge of his regiment which resulted in the capture of a large number of prisoners and a stand of colors.
McDONALD, JOHN WADE
Rank and organization: Private, Company E, 20th Illinois Infantry. Place and date: At Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., 6 April 1862. Entered service at: Wayneville, DeWitt County, Ill. Birth: Lancaster, Ohio. Date of issue: 27 August 1900. Citation: Was severely wounded while endeavoring, at the risk of his life, to carry to a place of safety a wounded and helpless comrade.
McELHlNNY, SAMUEL O.
Rank and organization: Private, Company A, 2d West Virginia Cavalry. Place and date: At Sailors Creek, Va., 6 April 1865. Entered service at: Point Pleasant, W. Va. Birth. Meigs County, Ohio. Date of issue: 3 May 1865. Citation: Capture of flag.
McWHORTER, WALTER F.
Rank and organization: Commissary Sergeant, Company E, 3d West Virginia Cavalry. Place and date: At Sailors Creek, Va., 6 April 1865. Entered service at: Harrison County, W. Va. Birth: Lewis County, W. Va. Date of issue: 3 May 1865. Citation: Capture of flag of 6th Tennessee Infantry (C.S.A.).
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for April 6, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
6 April
1917: The US declared war on Germany. Army and Navy air strength included 179 officers, 1,317 enlisted men, about 350 aircraft, and a few balloons. A day later, the Army's Aviation Section boasted 65 officers, including 35 pilots. The De Havilland DH-4 bomber was the only US produced airplane used in combat, mostly in an observation role, during the war. (4) (12)
1924: KEY EVENT--FIRST AROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT/MACKAY TROPHY. Four Army Douglas Biplanes took off from Seattle on the first global flight. Only two crews completed the 26,345-mile flight after 363 hours flying time in an elapsed time of 175 days. When the flight ended on 28 September, the two crews received Distinguished Service Medals and the Chevaliers of the Legion of Honor of France. This was the first transpacific flight and first westbound North Atlantic flight by plane. The crews included Maj Frederick L. Martin and SSgt Alva L. Harvey; 1Lts Lowell H. Smith, and Leslie P. Arnold; 1Lt Leigh Wade and SSgt Henry H. Ogden; and 1Lts Erik H. Nelson and John "Jack" Harding. Additionally, the group became the first military recipients of the Collier Trophy and won the Mackay Trophy for 1924. (9) (18)
1938: The Bell XP-39 Airacobra first flew. 1949: Curtiss-Wright announced that the Bell X-1 rocket plane with a Curtiss-Wright engine flew at a world record speed of 1,100 MPH for piloted planes. (9) (24)
1952: KOREAN WAR. In air-to-air operations, Capt Iven C. Kincheloe, Jr., 25 FIS, destroyed a MiG, becoming the war's tenth ace. (28)
1953: The 306 BMW Commander, Col Michael N. W. McCoy, flew a B-47 3,120 miles from MacDill AFB via Limestone AFB, Maine, to RAF Fairford, UK, in a 5-hour, 38-minute record time. (1)
1955: A B-36 dropped an experimental atomic air-to-air missile warhead in a Mark 5 ballistic casing from 42,000 feet. Retarded by parachute, the bomb exploded six miles above Yucca Flat, Nev., at the highest known altitude of any nuclear blast by that date. (16) (24)
1959: Cmdr L. E. Flint flew a F4H-1 Phantom II to a new world altitude record by reaching 98,560 feet over Edwards AFB. The Snark completed its first full-range flight test. From Cape Canaveral, the missile flew 5,000 miles down the Atlantic Missile Range and hit the target area on 7 April. (6)
1965: Early Bird I, the first commercial communications satellite, launched from Cape Kennedy to set up communications between North America and Europe. 1966: The USAF and Army signed an agreement on aircraft use. The Army relinquished intratheater, fixed-wing airlift operations and gave the USAF all CV-2 Caribous and CV-7 Buffalos. They were designated the C-7A Caribou and C-8A Buffalo, respectively. In return, the USAF agreed to not use rotary-wing aircraft for intratheater movements, fire support, or supply of Army forces. (16) (26) MAC C-141s began flying aeromedical evacuations from Europe. They replaced the bi-weekly C-135 flights. (18)
1967: RYAN'S RAIDERS. Flying modified F-105F Wild Weasel aircraft, capable of both night radar bombing and Wild Weasel missions, Ryan's Raiders went into action at night, striking a target deep inside North Vietnam. (17)
1972: American aircraft and warships began heavy, sustained attacks on North Vietnam, the first time since the October 1968 cessation of bombing. (16) (26)
1975: Operation EAGLE PULL: To support the evacuation of Americans and other nationals from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, MAC flew more than 1,400 US Marines and 1,561 tons of equipment from Kadena AB to Cubi Point, Philippines, in 29 C-141, 8 C-5, and 2 commercial contract missions. On 12 April, USAF and Marine Corps helicopters, with escorts from USAF fighters and gunships, evacuated 287 people in the final airlift from Phnom Penh. The city fell to communist forces on 17 April. (16) (18) (21)
1980: The first air refueled C-141B mission flew from Beale AFB to RAF Mildenhall. An aircrew assigned to the 443 MAW made the flight in 11 hours 12 minutes with one refueling. (2) (16)
1983: SCOWCROFT COMMISSION. A special President's Commission, led by retired Lt Gen Brent Scowcroft, suggested several ICBM Modernization efforts. The suggestions included: (1) developing a small single warhead ICBM; deploying 100 Peacekeeper missiles in Minuteman Silos, (3) studying the silo and shelter hardness basing modes, and (4) continuing other strategic programs--anti-ballistic missiles, Trident, bombers, ALCMs and command and control. (1)
1984: FIFTH CHALLENGER/ELEVENTH SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION. Astronauts made the first successful capture and repair of a satellite, the sunwatching Solar Maximum Mission satellite, in space. They returned to earth on 13 April. (3) The 375 AAW accepted the first Lear Jet C-21A. It was the first of 80 Learjets to be delivered to the USAF as replacements for the CT-39 Sabreliner. (16) (26)
1994: Operation DISTANT RUNNER. Through 10 April, USAF airlifters moved 148 Americans and 82 other foreigners from Bujumbura, Burundi, to Nairobi, Kenya, when ethnic violence broke out. (16)
2007: After 42 years of serving as the primary pilot instructor training aircraft at Randolph AFB, Tex., the T-37 Tweet turned over its responsibilities to the T-6 Texan II in a special ceremony. While at Randolph with the 559th Flying Training Squadron, the Tweet flew more than 597,000 sorties and 813,000 hours to train 7,737 T-37 instructor pilots. (AFNEWS, "Tweet Closes 42-Year Randolph Career," 9 Apr 2007.)
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