Good Saturday Morning May 25. The weather has been the usual night and morning low cods the last few days and yesterday the clouds came in early and dropped the temps quite a bit and put a small dampener on the outdoor College graduation I was attending for one of my students who earned her black belt many years ago. Palomar college is quite a place. She got an award for having two majors and over a 3.8 grade average for all her studies. I got to spend time later with her family and friends.
My flight gear is ready for the trip to the USS Midway early tomorrow morning and the List may be a bit sketchy tomorrow.
Thanks to Mac who figured out how to get my new wiper blades on my wife's car. I would have turned the air blue and ripped them to shreds if they had not cost so much.
All the Best,
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 May 25
1911 USS Wyoming (BB 32) launches. She is commissioned in Sept. 25, 1912 and later participates in the Veracruz Intervention and World War I.
1943 Patrol bombers from (VP 84) sink German submarine U 467 south-southeast of Iceland.
1944 USS Flying Fish (SS 229) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks guard boat Daito Maru and freighter Osaka Maru north of Palau.
1952 USS Iowa (BB 61) begins shelling industrial and rail centers at Chongjin, Korea. For her Korean War service, she receives two battle stars. USS Iowa is decommissioned in 1990 and is struck from the Navys list in 2006. Iowa is currently a museum ship.
1973 Skylab 2, the first U.S. manned orbiting space station, launches with all-Navy crew: Capt. Charles Conrad, Jr., Cmdr. Paul J. Weitz and Cmdr. Joseph P. Kerwin.
1985 USS Alabama (SN 731) is commissioned at Naval Submarine Base New London, Conn.
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Today in World History May 25
0585 Thales of Greece makes the first known prediction of a solar eclipse.
1085 Alfonso VI takes Toledo, Spain from the Muslims.
1787 The Constitutional convention opens at Philadelphia with George Washington presiding
1810 Argentina declares independence from Napoleonic Spain.
1851 Jose Justo de Urquiza of Argentina leads a rebellion against Juan Manuel de Rosas, his former ally.
1911 Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico, resigns his office.
1914 The British House of Commons passes Irish Home Rule.
1925 John Scopes is indicted for teaching Darwinian theory in school.
1935 Jesse Owens sets six world records in less than an hour in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
1946 Jordan gains independence from Britain.
1953 The first atomic cannon is fired in Nevada
1977 "Star Wars" opens in theaters
More on 1787
Four years after the United States won its independence from Great Britain, 55 state delegates, including George Washington, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin, convene in Philadelphia to compose a new U.S. constitution on May 25, 1787.
The Articles of Confederation, ratified several months before the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781, provided for a loose confederation of U.S. states, which were sovereign in most of their affairs. On paper, Congress—the central authority—had the power to govern foreign affairs, conduct war, and regulate currency, but in practice these powers were sharply limited because Congress was given no authority to enforce its requests to the states for money or troops. By 1786, it was apparent that the Union would soon break up if the Articles of Confederation were not amended or replaced. Five states met in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss the issue, and all the states were invited to send delegates to a new constitutional convention to be held in Philadelphia.
On May 25, 1787, delegates representing every state except Rhode Island convened at Philadelphia's Pennsylvania State House for the Constitutional Convention. The building, which is now known as Independence Hall, had earlier seen the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and the signing of the Articles of Confederation. The assembly immediately discarded the idea of amending the Articles of Confederation and set about drawing up a new scheme of government. Revolutionary War hero George Washington, a delegate from Virginia, was elected convention president.
During three months of debate, the delegates devised a brilliant federal system characterized by an intricate system of checks and balances. The convention was divided over the issue of state representation in Congress, as more populated states sought proportional legislation, and smaller states wanted equal representation. The problem was resolved by the Connecticut Compromise, which proposed a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house (House of Representatives) and equal representation of the states in the upper house (Senate).
On September 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States of America was signed by 38 of the 41 delegates present at the conclusion of the convention. As dictated by Article VII, the document would not become binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 states.
Beginning on December 7, five states—Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut—ratified it in quick succession. However, other states, especially Massachusetts, opposed the document, as it failed to reserve un-delegated powers to the states and lacked constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press. In February 1788, a compromise was reached under which Massachusetts and other states would agree to ratify the document with the assurance that amendments would be immediately proposed. The Constitution was thus narrowly ratified in Massachusetts, followed by Maryland and South Carolina. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document, and it was subsequently agreed that government under the U.S. Constitution would begin on March 4, 1789.
On September 25, 1789, the first Congress of the United States adopted 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution–the Bill of Rights–and sent them to the states for ratification. Ten of these amendments were ratified in 1791. In November 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Rhode Island, which opposed federal control of currency and was critical of compromise on the issue of slavery, resisted ratifying the Constitution until the U.S. government threatened to sever commercial relations with the state. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island voted by two votes to ratify the document, and the last of the original 13 colonies joined the United States. Today the U.S. Constitution is the oldest written national constitution in operation in the world.
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 20 May 2024 and ending Sunday, 26 May 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 19 May 1969… The historic and controversial battle for Hambuger Hill…
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
(Please note the eye-watering ongoing revamp of the RTR website by Webmaster/Author Dan Heller, who has inherited the site from originators RADM Bear Taylor, USN, Retired, and Angie Morse, "Mighty Thunder")…
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. .Micro is the one also that goes into the archives and finds these inputs and sends them to me for incorporation in the List. It is a lot of work and our thanks goes out to him for his effort. He just sent me the ones for June.
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "for 25 May .
25: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2899
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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I had forgotten that Jerry had sent me this update
Thanks to Jerry
Hi Skip,
Here is an excerpt from a letter from Peter Mersky's with my corrections to his original and comments for his book :
------------------------------------------------------------
"VF-24 and VF-211 were also aboard CV-19, flying F-8Js, refurbished F-8Es.
These last remaining F-8 squadrons were on escort duty as well as strike, and flak and SAM site suppression details, but always, the Crusader pilots hoped for a vector to a MIG. On May 23, 1972, Lt. Jerry Tucker got his chance. Along with LCDR. Frank Bachman, the two aviators had been flying TARCAP for an Alpha strike near the "Hourglass" an area south of Nam Dinh named for the shape of two north-south rivers. The ALPHA strike had completed their mission and were "feet wet" leaving Bachman and Tucker with time before the next recovery so they checked-in with RED CROWN and offered their services. When they arrived on the frequency they heard two "Rock River" F-4s on a vector for a MIG bogie heading south from "Bullseye", the code name for Hanoi. They both perked up when they heard two VF-161 Phantoms had lost sight of each other on the vector and set up a rendezvous circle to rejoin before continuing on the vector toward the MIG.
Tucker informed Red Crown that his section was ready to go and he could see his wingman. Red Crown called off the Phantoms and sent the Crusaders toward the MIG. Heading north, Bachman and Tucker spotted the MiG-17 north of them and maneuvered for the intercept. Lt. Tucker had the lead because he had the enemy fighter in sight. It was low, heading south and really moving. As he began his turn behind the MIG Tucker's AIM-9D Sidewinder began to growl, indicating the missile's seeker head was "sniffing" its quarry. Suddenly, the MIG's canopy flew off, followed by the ejecting pilot. Tucker watched incredulously as his "kill" floated down under a white parachute. The frustrated Crusader pilot made two passes by the understandably nervous North Vietnamese pilot, whose head turned to follow the American fighter as it flashed past him.
Unfortunately, the Navy denied credit for the kill because the bogey had not been confirmed as a MIG until several weeks later, and neither pilot had fired at it. The Hancock was credited with a kill after it was identified as a MIG, leaving those concerned, as well as historians, to argue the point for posterity. One of the aspects of the "engagement" has long been whether the MIG pilot punched out when he found his opponents were F-8s instead of F-4s. Of course, Crusader drivers will say that his reaction was understandable given the potent reputation of the F-8. As Lt. Tucker points out, however, only that MIG pilot knows for sure, and he has long since faded into the security of anonymity."
I added the following in my response:
"Peter,
I changed the location and headings of the planes as well as the missile used. We had AIM-9Ds at that time. The AIM-9L didn't go into full production until 1977.
I'm sorry but I can't remember what the ALPHA strike target was that day.
We (meaning me) didn't document that. We usually flew two ALPHAs a day at this time in the war as TARCAP or MIGCAP. This day it was as TARCAP.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jerry
We lost Frank Bachman this year so any mention of him in your work might make his family feel a little better. Frank was a Great guy.
Jerry"
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Thanks to Newell
Family and Friends,
The PebbleCreek Senior Adult Community in which I live has a sizeable group of retired military-service residents. Naturally, the Military Appreciation Month of May and May's Memorial Day celebrations provide opportunities for us to honor those compatriots who made the ultimate sacrifice in their service to our Constitutional Republic. …Graciously, a container of donated "Please Take One To Wear!" red poppies is found on our Activities Center counter each year.
In that spirit, the following article from our community newspaper is shared.
Newell
MEMORIAL DAY RED POPPIES
(lifted from our Senior Adult Community's newspaper
the "PebbleCreek Post")
World War I concluded with about ten million military personnel killed, and likely about the same number of civilian casualties. One particularly bloody WWI battle occurred in northern Belgium on April 22, 1915 ― the Second Battle of Ypres. During which, Germany fired 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French and Algerian Divisions, and followed that gas-attack up two days later by gassing a Canadian Division. All told, the Second Battle of Ypres produced approximately 87,000 Allied troops and 37,000 German troops killed, wounded or missing. Due to the substantial carnage, bodies of the fallen were, of wartime necessity, buried in either nearby battlefield cemeteries or interred in mass graves.
On May 3, 1915 Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian physician, upon seeing the red poppies erupting from the battle-ravaged land of northern Flanders (i.e., northern Belgium), in homage to the fallen, penned the poem, In Flanders Fields. His poem was published in Punch Magazine, December 1915. In Flanders Fields gave voice to the soldiers who had been killed in the battle, and who now lay buried beneath the poppy-covered grounds. Those soldiers' symbolic voices encouraged their living brethren to keep up the fight, so their lost lives would not have been given in vain.
"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row.
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below,
We are the dead. Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields."
On November 9, 1918 (two days before the WWI Armistice), Moina Michael, a volunteer at the New York YMCA, published in the Ladies Home Journal a response to Lieutenant-Colonel McCrae's In Flanders Fields. A poetic response that she titled, We Shall Keep The Faith.
"Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet ― to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With all who died.
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields."
Sadly, on January 28, 1918, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae died of pneumonia (a belated result of the chlorine gas), and he never saw the responsive poem Moina Michael wrote. Yes, intentionally, planted red poppies adorned his gravesite.
In September 1920, the National American Legion voted to adopt the poppy as the official U.S. national emblem of remembrance. Other nations soon followed suit, also adopting the red poppy as their national symbol of remembrance. And it is common, these days, to see the American Legion proffering red poppies to us annually around Memorial Day in recognition of our fallen brethren.
Like the innumerable patriots before you, wear the symbolic red poppies proudly!
PS: In reverent Post Script, Eilee Mahoney's poetry honors those for whom a final-resting funeral plot with its commemorative headstone are not feasible. N.
WATERY GRAVES
By Eilee Mahoney
In ocean wastes, no poppies grow,
No crosses stand in ordered row.
There young hearts sleep … beneath the wave.
The spirited, the good, and the brave.
But stars a constant vigil keep,
For them who lie beneath the deep.
'Tis true you cannot kneel in prayer
On certain spot and think, "He's there."
But you can to the ocean go,
See whitecaps marching row on row.
Know one for him will always ride,
In and out … with every tide.
And when your span of life is passed,
He'll meet you at the "Captain's Mast."
And they who mourn on distant shore,
For sailors who'll come home no more,
Can dry their tears and pray for these,
Who rest beneath the heaving seas.
For stars that shine and winds that blow,
And whitecaps marching row on row,
And they will never lonely be,
For when they lived … they chose the sea.
And when your span of life is passed,
He'll meet you at the "Captain's Mast."
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Thanks once again to Shadow and his literary eloquence….skip
Subject: Memorial Day Weekend
Dear Family and Friends…
Tomorrow starts the annual "Memorial Day Weekend"… to most it signifies the unofficial start of summer. Time to hit the beaches, have BBQ's and fun and games. But to a lot of us, especially those who have served in the military, it reminds us of hard times. A time of sacrifice and friends lost in the line of "Duty". What is "Duty"? It is that one time in life where one pledges to give his life if necessary… to a grateful and deserving nation. And those of us from my generation… we not only see the unawareness of its' true meaning to most civilians… but in fact in todays world our politicians have seemed to ignore or acknowledge the true meaning of the day. Just another weekend to give false witness and say hallow words that they don't really mean… or of things they don't really care about. But in their warped world… they realize they have to make the obligatory lip service… it's just something they do to make us think they care.
I have so often pointed out (not to much success I might add)… that our military never starts wars… Politicians do! And those same politicians who start wars… inevitably (the politicians, in and out of uniform) meddle in and demand of the military such restraint that it prevents victory… something a real and dogmatic enemy never considers. The last war this nation won was my fathers' war… WW II. Since then the politicians, Neo-Cons and false careerists… have done every thing within their power that they could... to prevent a just and honorable end. A pox on their house! BTW… I would be willing to bet… well over half the politicians who claimed to have served in today's world… never suffered a shot in anger. They gravitated to the JAG Corps (lawyers) and non-combatant roles. Some even cravenly volunteered for such duty as simply another check in the box for a political future.
On the other hand… those who did serve, came to know the real horrors of war… up close and personal. While the politicians glibly paid lip service… they have no skin in the game, they're never in harm's way. Yet they make decisions everyday, that causes patriots to die, when they didn't have to. Worse they dictate strategies that extend wars, without winning wars. I'm fed up! More often than not… many warriors of my generation look back and think to themselves… my service was for naught, I'm sorry I participated. At the same time we are of the mindset… that we would serve again if our nation called. Think that one through? Truth is… we are condemned to be conflicted. We were and are… proud of our service; yet we have utter contempt for all those so called smart people wearing the mantle of politician. Folks, they're so smart… they have no common sense! Instead of truly serving… they just grasp on to whatever the latest "thing" is… like Global Warming/Climate Change… to you youngsters out there… here's a flash for you… the earth's climate has always changed! It has gone through periods of hot and gold (go figure). We've always had Hurricanes and tornado's… we've had hot summers and cool ones, mild winters and cold ones… it's a natural cycle. And BTW… when you hear a politician claiming most scientists are in consensus that Global Warming is an existential threat… think about this… if consensus was the hallmark of science… the earth would still be flat and the sun would be curling the earth! Consensus has no weight in science… it is not proof… just an unproven theory. Not to mention the originators of this scam, still refuse to release the data they used to come up with this nonsense. Don't be fooled by the film flam men and women in politics and academia… they cravenly aspire to control our lives from cradle to grave and to question their motives, we're accused of being too dumb to understand. Forget common sense… just do as you're told. They are the real fascists in our society!
So… let's get back to those who served and more importantly those who made the ultimate sacrifice for what has often become an ungrateful nation. I suggest we should think of this day, not just as another holiday… but a time to truly give thanks for those we left behind and honor those who served unselfishly. I'm gonna leave you with a little story I wrote years ago… that I always share on this day with my Bubba's I served with. It is a story of a better man than me… and most. Who was such an exceptional human being, that his loss has never left us… we will always remember him as we do so many others.
Shadow
Here is the Attachment:
POST SCRIPT ON MCANNALLY
It's Memorial Day… so I guess its appropriate that I get around to writing a post script to
my little article about something a dear friend, instructor and role model… passed on to
me that later may have saved my life and that of my backseater… it saved an airplane for
sure. I was delighted that Flying had selected my article for publication. But the results of
this last month have made me realize I should have written something else.
Last month, one of their artists, Barry Ross, called to ask for some pictures he could use
to go with the layout drawing he was assigned to do for the piece. I should have known
what would follow, but I didn't. Due to a recent move and with most of my memorabilia
still packed, I sent out a request to some of my former squadron mates for pictures of
John McAnnally and the airplanes we flew. That request opened a floodgate of memories,
not just for me, but for so many who knew him. What I did not mention in the article, was
that the man who saved my life, John McAnnally, was lost in an F-4 accident a number of
years later.
For almost a solid month, not a day went by without some other little memory or
anecdote about John being emailed to me. And if I were less than honest… I wouldn't
admit that I cried once again… for a friends memory and untimely death. I know for a
fact that others did as well.
I absolutely wept when I read Chuck "Shogun" Hoelle's account of "Hook" Denton
calling him and saying; "I want you to do the toughest thing you will probably ever have
to do in your life. I want you to do the JAG manual investigation on John McAnnally's
crash".
Shogun went on to give a snapshot of the investigation in the manner of a true
professional. It pulled no punches, laid out the facts and was extremely painstaking and
thorough… Shogun then went on to say he cried almost every night for about two weeks,
doing what he had to do… and he concluded his message with this; "OK, am going to
bed now with tears in my eyes… probably won't sleep tonight… just like 28 years ago.
Hook was right; toughest thing I've ever done in 64 years of life. Sorry, Shogun sends".
And then there were the laughs… John had one of those "special" personalities…
mischievous and almost boyish… and at times irreverent… yet he was a consummate
professional in his work as an officer and aviator. John was the "Training and Schedules
Officer" at the time and it was demanding job. He had to keep the pipeline flowing with
new pilots and RIO's… to support the war effort and at the same time juggle an ever
changing availability of instructors. This guy had a cold… this one's wife was having a
baby… that one had to go to the pistol range… etc, etc. It could drive the best of us crazy.
In frustration one day… John in his own inimitable fashion came up with an idea to
enforce on everyone the need to make themselves available… we were supposed to be
professionals… it was our job to be available at all times. He created the "Jonathan
Livingstone Seagull Award"… it was for the aircrew instructor who flew the least… in
the previous month. And to show you what gnads he had… John's first award went to the
Skipper himself! The message was sent and the response was appropriate… no one
wanted their name attached to that trophy.
As the ebb and flow of the emails kept coming, I couldn't help but think about our world
and our times. In my heart of hearts… having been a civilian for so long… I knew that
the vast majority of the civilian world had no concept of what it was like or what we went
through during our times on active duty. A large segment of the population viewed us as
Neanderthals… ascribing to the notion that we were heartless and in their eyes, subhuman…
war lovers and worse. Another segment thought of us a losers in life's lottery of
opportunity… feeling we went into the military because we had no other option…
nothing could be farther from the truth. We were there because we wanted to be… it's
that simple. And we felt and we bled and we cried just as our civilian contemporaries do.
We served… we did not relish combat, but we did not shrink from it either… we felt in
our hearts that if it had to be done… there was no greater calling than to serve one's
Country. It really isn't much more complicated than that. Why civilians couldn't
understand or accept that concept was beyond most of us? I can say in my later years
emphatically… the most honorable, professional and able men I have ever known… were
those I served with in the U.S. Marines.
Yes, we were assuredly human… we hurt, we cried and we had memories… some still
haunt us today. I can vividly remember where I was and the circumstances of finding out
about John's death… I recently shared it with John's sister Myrna. I got the call from
Harry Gann… the famous historian/photographer for McDonnell/Douglas… somehow he
had found out within hours of John's accident… I was already out of the Corps and Harry
called me at my office in La Costa, California, because he knew how much I admired and
cared about John… I'll never forget it.
"You better sit down Roy… I have some very bad news… we just lost John McAnnally a
few hours ago… I don't know what happened…. But he is gone". I was speechless… all I
could say was "NO"… and hung up. I started weeping at my desk… I finally went out
back behind my office and just sobbed… my poor secretary had no idea what was going
on and thought one of my parents had just died… it took me a while before I could
explain.
For those of us who served in those days…. death was not a stranger to us… between a
Grunt Tour in Vietnam and all the guys we lost in flying… I had kind of developed my
own sort of self defense mechanism… we could be a pretty stoic group. I had come to
know that with each death… a little piece of me died with them… but I also knew that
there was nothing I could do to change it… there was nothing I could do to bring them
back. When John died… it took a big hunk out of me… first because I'd always felt he
had saved my life and second because here was a guy, whom you knew… was a better
man, a better pilot and a better friend than I could ever be… and now he was gone… in
the prime of life.
And I was not alone in my feelings… at the memorial service at El Toro… I sat in one of
the back pews of the Chapel with a virtual Who's Who of Marine Corps Aviation from
that time… and to a man, we all cried like children for our friend's untimely death. It had
a profound affect on all of us.
I guess it's also appropriate on this Memorial Day to mention there have been many other
John McAnnally's in my life… good men who did not make it, who died in the service of
their country… who never had the opportunity to drink from a full cup of life like we
have. Hell, our accident rate was so high in those days; we'd lose more men and planes in
a bad week, than our entire military does these days in a year. Not to mention combat
losses. It was not uncommon to lose a friend during the day and have to go out and fly
that night. I know civilians have a hard time understanding such things as this… but it
was our life. Dear friends gone, but certainly not forgotten. As with John… on occasion,
something will click… some memory cell is triggered and we remember it all again. It is
as it should be.
Just like this… I don't even know why I decided to write what I did or even submit it for
publication… it just sorta happened. When I appealed to some of our friends for
pictures… it opened the floodgates of memories once again… and a lot of us have shed
many more tears for a friend we lost so long ago… we have also laughed once again at
some of the joy he brought to us… and at the same time it was reassuring… he was never
forgotten; nor are so many others.
As long as I live… I will never forget that smile… that gusto for life… that twinkle in his
eye. He was so very special.
In conclusion I'll share what another friend, John Verdi wrote me years ago… from the
Latin version of the good book… Tunc implebitur risu os nostrim et ligua nostra laude.
Ps.125.5 (Then our heart filled with laughter and our tongue with praise.)
Good-bye again John, Godspeed.
Respectfully, Roy Stafford
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Bubble Wrap was invented as wallpaper.
Bubble Wrap is one of the 20th century's most versatile — and dare we say most beloved — inventions. The pliable, air-pocketed sheets have been used for decades to insulate pipes, protect fragile items, and even make dresses. And that's not to mention the fascination some people have with popping its bubbles (both competitively and for fun). But when it was first created in 1957 in New Jersey, inventors Al Fielding and Marc Chavannes had a different vision in mind for their ingenious padding: home decor. The pioneering duo hoped their creation — which trapped air between two shower curtains run through a heat-sealing machine — would serve as a textured wallpaper marketed to a younger generation with "modern" taste. The initial idea was a flop, however, and Fielding and Chavannes soon pivoted to promoting Bubble Wrap, then called Air Cap, as a greenhouse insulator (another idea whose bubble would quickly burst).
It took another invention of the time — IBM's 1401 model computer — to seal Bubble Wrap's fate as a packing material. Under the company name Sealed Air, Fielding and Chavannes approached IBM about using the air-filled plastic in shipping containers, replacing traditional box-fillers like newspaper, straw, and horsehair. After passing the test of transporting delicate electronics, Sealed Air became a shipping industry standard. Over time, Fielding and Chavannes were granted six patents related to Bubble Wrap manufacturing, and Sealed Air continues to create new versions of the remarkable wrap — including a cheaper, unpoppable version that's popular with cost-minded shippers (but not so much with bubble-popping enthusiasts).
Bubble Wrap was nominated to the Toy Hall of Fame.
Some of the best toys aren't toys at all — a phenomenon well known to people who spend painstaking hours selecting gifts for kids, only for the items to sit ignored in favor of the toy's packaging. That allure among the younger set helped secure Bubble Wrap a nomination to the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2016 as a nontraditional toy (akin to honorees such as the stick and the cardboard box). The poppable plastic didn't become an official inductee, but its appeal has been replicated by the Pop It!, a squishable popping toy with a feverish following. The silicone poppers provide endless snaps that some psychologists say can reduce tension and anxiety, making them especially popular during a stress-inducing pandemic. While the fidget toy seems like a modern solution to everyday jitters, Pop-Its were actually invented in 1975 by a former classmate of Anne Frank. Five decades later, reduced manufacturing costs have given the bubble-bursting toy a second chance at soothing anxious minds of all ages.
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Thanks to History Facts
Europeans feared tomatoes for centuries, believing they were poisonous.
WORLD HISTORY
There's a reason why the humble tomato used to be known by the far more sinister moniker of "poison apple": Europeans feared tomatoes for centuries and believed they were poisonous. As recently as the 18th century, it was thought that aristocrats were falling ill and even dying after eating tomatoes — a misconception stemming from the use of pewter plates, which contained high lead content. The fruit, which is highly acidic, would leach that lead and then poison the unlucky eater. The fear of tomatoes was just as prevalent across the pond, where some American farmers believed that the green tomato worm was "poisonous as a rattlesnake" (in the words of one New York farmer). An entomologist named Benjamin Dann Walsh eventually set the record straight, writing that the insect in question was "merely an ugly-looking worm which eats some of the leaves of the tomato," and by the late 1800s, more people began to appreciate tomatoes for the nutritious treat they are.
That change of heart was thanks in part to the increasing popularity of pizza, of which Italy's Queen Margherita (sound familiar?) was known to partake. It's believed by some that Raffaele Esposito, a baker from Naples often credited with inventing the modern pizza, used the Italian flag's three colors as inspiration: red tomatoes, white mozzarella, and green basil. If anything explains an entire continent overcoming its irrational fear of tomatoes, it makes sense that it would be pizza.
By the Numbers
Genes in a tomato (humans have 20,000 to 25,000)
31,760
Weight (in pounds) of the world's heaviest tomato
11.65
Varieties of tomato
10,000+
Pounds of tomatoes the average American ate in 2022
19
DID YOU KNOW?
Tomatoes have been grown in space.
A little more than 600 people have been to space. So have tomatoes. Seeds for Red Robin dwarf tomatoes were delivered to members of the International Space Station in November 2022 as part of NASA's Pick-and-Eat Salad-Crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System (try saying that five times fast) initiative, essentially a program meant to give astronauts more food options while in orbit. The seeds, which were delivered in specialized grow bags called "plant pillows," require a controlled-release fertilizer to grow in zero gravity and take longer to sprout than they would on Earth. Good things are worth waiting for, especially in orbit.
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This Day In American Military History May 25
1864 – Boat crew from U.S.S. Mattabesett, Captain M. Smith, made an unsuccessful attempt to destroy C.S.S. Albemarle in the Roanoke River near Plymouth, North Carolina. After ascending the Middle River with two 100-pound torpedoes, Charles Baldwin, coal heaver, and John W. Lloyd, coxswain, swam across the Roanoke carrying a towline with which they hauled the torpedoes to the Plymouth shore. Baldwin planned to swim down to the ram and position a torpedo on either side of her bow. Across the river, Alexander Crawford, fireman, would then explode the weapons. However, Baldwin was discovered by a sentry when within a few yards of Albemarle and the daring mission had to be abandoned. John Lloyd cut the guidelines and swam back across the river to join John Laverty, fireman, who was guarding the far shore. They made their way to the dinghy in which they had rowed upriver and, with Benjamin Lloyd, coal heaver, who had acted as boatkeeper, made their way back to the Mattabesett. On 29 May Baldwin and Crawford, exhausted, returned to the ship.
1945 – On Okinawa, the US 4th Marine Regiment eliminates the Japanese casemates and underground positions on Machishi Hill. The US 29th Regiment secures Naha. And they are still not done…..
1961 – President Kennedy asked the nation to work toward putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
1973 – Launch of Skylab 2 mission, which was first U.S. manned orbiting space station. It had an all Navy crew of CAPT Charles Conrad, Jr., USN. (commanding), CDR Joseph P. Kerwin, USN and CDR Paul J. Weitz, USN. During the 28 day mission of 404 orbits, the craft rendezvoused with Skylab to make repairs and conduct science experiments. Recovery by USS Ticonderoga (CVS-14)
1999 – The US government released a bipartisan congressional report that said China stole design secrets for nuclear warheads that included every weapon in the current US nuclear arsenal. The systematic espionage campaign was dated back to the 1970s. Stolen technology included data on an Army antitank weapon, fighter airplanes and all the elements needed to launch a major nuclear attack. President Clinton responded that his administration was already "moving aggressively to tighten security."
2005 – Voyager 1, the most distant man-made object, has entered the heliosheath and is on the cusp of leaving the Solar System and entering the interstellar medium.
2012 – The Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with the International Space Station.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
Every day when I read all these I am continually amazed at what these men did for their/our country and many at the cost of their own lives. We honor them by remembering them and what they did so it will not be forgotten…..skip
BALDWIN, CHARLES
Rank and organization: Coal Heaver, U.S. Navy. Born: 30 June 1839, Delaware. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Wyalusing and participating in a plan to destroy the rebel ram Albermarle in Roanoke River, 25 May 1864. Volunteering for the hazardous mission, C.H. Baldwin participated in the transfer of 2 torpedoes across an island swamp. Weighted by a line which was used to transfer the torpedoes, he swam the river and, when challenged by a sentry, was forced to abandon the plan after erasing its detection and before it could be carried to completion. Escaping the fire of the muskets, C.H. Baldwin spent 2 days and nights of hazardous travel without food, and finally arrived, fatigued, at the mother ship.
CRAWFORD, ALEXANDER
Rank and organization: Fireman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1842, Pennsylvania. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864 Citation: On board the U.S.S. Wyalusing, Crawford volunteered 25 May 1864, in a night attempt to destroy the rebel ram Albemarle in the Roanoke River. Taking part in a plan to explode the rebel ram Albemarle, Crawford executed his part in the plan with perfection, but upon being discovered, was forced to abandon the plan and retire leaving no trace of the evidence. After spending two hazardous days and nights without food, he gained the safety of a friendly ship and was then transferred back to the Wyalusing. Though the plan failed his skill and courage in preventing detection were an example of unfailing devotion to duty.
LAFFERTY, JOHN
Rank and organization: Fireman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1842, New York, N.Y. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Served on board the U.S.S. Wyalusing and participated in a plan to destroy the rebel ram Albemarle in Roanoke River, 25 May 1864. Volunteering for the hazardous mission, Lafferty participated in the transfer of two torpedoes across an island swamp and then served as sentry to keep guard of clothes and arms left by other members of the party. After being rejoined by others of the party who had been discovered before the plan could be completed, Lafferty succeeded in returning to the mother ship after spending 24 hours of discomfort in the rain and swamp.
LLOYD, BENJAMIN
Rank and organization: Coal Heaver, U.S. Navy. Born: 1839. England. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Wyalusing and participating in a plan to destroy the rebel ram Albemarle in Roanoke River, 25 May 1864. Volunteering for the hazardous mission, Lloyd participated in the transfer of two torpedoes across an island swamp. Serving as boatkeeper, he aided in rescuing others of the party who had been detected before the plan could be completed, but who escaped, leaving detection of the plan impossible. By his skill and courage, Lloyd succeeded in returning to the mother ship after spending 24 hours of discomfort in the rain and swamp.
LLOYD, JOHN W.
Rank and organization: Coxswain, U.S. Navy. Born. 1831, New York, N.Y. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Wyalusing during an attempt to destroy the rebel ram Albemarle in Roanoke River, 25 May 1864, Lloyd participated in this daring plan by swimming the Roanoke River heavily weighted with a line which was used for hauling torpedoes across. Thwarted by discovery just before the completion of the plan, Lloyd cut the torpedo guiding line to prevent detection of the plan by the enemy and again swam the river, narrowly escaping enemy musket fire and regaining the ship in safety.
*ADAMS, WILLIAM E.
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army, A/227th Assault Helicopter Company, 52d Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade. Place and Date: Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 25 May 1971. Entered Service at: Kansas City, Mo. Born: 16 June 1939, Casper, Wyo. Citation: Maj. Adams distinguished himself on 25 May 1971 while serving as a helicopter pilot in Kontum Province in the Republic of Vietnam. On that date, Maj. Adams volunteered to fly a lightly armed helicopter in an attempt to evacuate 3 seriously wounded soldiers from a small fire base which was under attack by a large enemy force. He made the decision with full knowledge that numerous antiaircraft weapons were positioned around the base and that the clear weather would afford the enemy gunners unobstructed view of all routes into the base. As he approached the base, the enemy gunners opened fire with heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. Undaunted by the fusillade, he continued his approach determined to accomplish the mission. Displaying tremendous courage under fire, he calmly directed the attacks of supporting gunships while maintaining absolute control of the helicopter he was flying. He landed the aircraft at the fire base despite the ever-increasing enemy fire and calmly waited until the wounded soldiers were placed on board. As his aircraft departed from the fire base, it was struck and seriously damaged by enemy anti-aircraft fire and began descending. Flying with exceptional skill, he immediately regained control of the crippled aircraft and attempted a controlled landing. Despite his valiant efforts, the helicopter exploded, overturned, and plummeted to earth amid the hail of enemy fire. Maj. Adams' conspicuous gallantry, intrepidity, and humanitarian regard for his fellow man were in keeping with the most cherished traditions of the military service and reflected utmost credit on him and the U S. Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for May 25, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
25 May
1910: Orville and Wilbur Wright flew together for the first time at Dayton. (24)
1927: Lt James H. Doolittle performed the first known successful outside loop. Flying a Curtiss P-1B Hawk pursuit, he began the maneuver in level flight at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), then pushed the nose down into a dive. When he reached 280 miles per hour (450 kilometers per hour), Doolittle continued to pitch the nose "down" and the airplane flew through a complete vertical circle, with the pilot's head to the outside of the loop.
1931: COLLIER TROPHY. Walter E. Lees and Frederick A. Brossy started a flight that set a non-refueled world endurance record of 85 hours 32 minutes 28 seconds. They used a Packardowned Bellanca "Pacemaker," with a 225 HP diesel engine, at Jacksonville, Fla. For this event, Lees and Brossy earned the 1931 Collier Trophy. (24)
1938: Frank W. Fuller, Jr., in a Seversky, flew from San Francisco to Seattle in a record time of 2 hours 31 minutes 41 seconds. (24)
1948: Using a modified B-29 as the tanker aircraft, the Air Force completed its first in-flight refueling. Prior to this event, Boeing conducted the refueling demonstration program. (See 5 May 1948) (12)
1953: North American test pilot, George "Wheaties" Welsh, flies the YF-100 Super Sabre for the first time and easily breaks Mach 1 during the one-hour sortie. The flight occurs at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California. Nearly 2,300 F-100s will be built during its service life.
1954: DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS/HARMON INTERNATIONAL TROPHY. Cmdr M.H. Eppes landed his ZPG-2 airship at NAS Key West after staying aloft for 200.1 hours. Eppes received the DFC and the 1955 Harmon International Trophy for Aeronauts. (24)
1959: The ADC received its first F-106 Delta Dart. It was designed to replace the F-102 Delta Dagger. (21)
1960: Through 21 June, after a series of earthquakes and a tidal wave hit Chile, the MATS sent C-118 and C-124 aircraft to transport 851 tons of cargo and 1,020 passengers for relief operations there. (2) (18)
1962: SAC turned over the last Jupiter IRBM squadron to Turkey. (6)
1964: First conventional flight of the Army's XV-5A, a Ryan-built STOL research aircraft, (formerly the VZ-11) occurred at Edwards AFB. (3)
1973: Skylab 2 (also SL-2 and SLM-1[4]) launched this date. It was the first crewed mission to Skylab, the first American orbital space station. The mission was launched on an Apollo command and service module by a Saturn IB rocket with Astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., Paul Weitz, and Dr. Joseph Kerwin aboard. On 26 May, the astronauts met with Skylab 1 during the fifth orbit, where they worked in space to repair the space station through 21 June. On 18 June, the astronauts surpassed the endurance record in space set by the Soyuz 11 crew. They returned on 22 June, after 404 orbits of the Earth.
1984: A MAC C-141 flew the body of the Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War from Travis AFB to Andrews AFB prior to its interment at Arlington National Cemetery. (18)
1993: Through 3 August, NASA demonstrated aerobraking, which used atmospheric drag to slow a spacecraft, to place the Magellan Venus probe into a lower orbit. (20)
1995: Through 26 May, USAF aircraft joined in on NATO attacks against Serbian military bunkers to halt Serb artillery attacks on Sarajevo. (16) (26)
1996: Through 26 May, during Air Fete '96, an annual air show at RAF Station Mildenhall, the first joint MiG-29, F-15C and F-15E formation flyby in aviation history occurred as a featured display. The F-15s came from nearby RAF Lakenheath, while the MiG-29 came from the Slovak Republic for the airshow. (AFNEWS Article 960522, May 96)
1999: The F-117 test force at Edwards AFB completed the Single Configuration Fleet program, which provided a uniform radar absorbing material (RAM) coating for the entire F-117 fleet to significantly reduce costs and maintenance hours. (3)
2007: C-17 Globemaster III crews of the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron delivered bullets to Beirut as part of a short notice ammunition re-supply tasking in support of the Lebanese military. (AFNEWS, "Airmen Deliver Strategic Aid to Lebanese Military, 28 May 2007.)
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