To All,
Good Monday Morning July 15. I hope that you all had a good weekend and I am glad that former President Trump is doing well. A couple millimeters is a pretty close shave. I hope that a lot of folks in high places are going to get the ax for that incompetence.
Warm Regards,
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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/. Go here to see the director's corner for all 83 H-Grams
July 15
1862 While CSS Arkansas makes her way down the Yazoo River, she encounters the Union gunboats USS Carondelet, USS Tyler, and USS Queen of the West. In the ensuing battle, CSS Arkansas damages the first two vessels and makes her way into the Mississippi River, where she boldly fights through the Federal fleet to find refuge at the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg, Miss.
1896 USS Oregon (BB 3) is commissioned.
1942 USS Grunion (SS 216) sinks the Japanese submarine chasers (25 and 26) off Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
1942 USS Terror (CM 5), the first minelayer built as such, is commissioned. During World War II she participates in Operation Torch, the Battle for Iwo Jima, and the Okinawa Invasion, where she is struck by a kamikaze on May 1, 1945.
1943 TBF aircraft from (VC 29) from USS Santee (CVE 29) sinks German submarine (U 509) south of the Azores.
1943 PBY (VP 92) and British destroyer HMS Rochester and frigates HMS Mignonette and HMS Balsam sink German submarine (U 135) west of the Canary Islands. Previously, (U 135) sank 3 and damaged 1 Allied vessels, none from the United States.
2017 The guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG 113) is commissioned in a ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. The ship honors Chief Aviation Ordnanceman John Finn, who received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the first attack by Japanese airplanes at Pearl Harbor.
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Today in World History July 15
1099 Jerusalem falls to the Crusaders.
1410 Poles and Lithuanians defeat the Teutonic knights at Tannenberg, Prussia.
1685 The Duke of Monmouth is executed in Tower Hill in England.
1789 The electors of Paris set up a "Commune" to live without the authority of the government.
1806 Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins his western expedition from Fort Belle Fontaine.
1813 Napoleon Bonaparte's representatives meet with the Allies in Prague to discuss peace terms.
1834 Lord Napier of England arrives at Macao, China, as the first chief superintendent of trade.
1863 Confederate raider Bill Anderson and his Bushwhackers attack Huntsville, Missouri, stealing $45,000 from the local bank.
1895 Ex-prime minister of Bulgaria, Stepfan Stambolov, is murdered by Macedonian rebels.
1901 Over 74,000 Pittsburgh steel workers go on strike.
1942 The first supply flight from India to China over the 'Hump' is flown.
1958 President Dwight Eisenhower sends 5,000 Marines to Lebanon to keep the peace.
1960 John F. Kennedy accepts the Democratic nomination for president.
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 15 July 2024 and ending Sunday, 21 July 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 14 July 1969… The retreat from Vietnam began, the loss of brave hearts continued. Ten aircraft and seven aviators gone but not forgotten: Captain Jerry Coffee's brilliant poem for the ages: "One Last Roll For Me."…
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.
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "for 15 July
July 15: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1244
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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Navy pilots return after months of fighting Houthi attacks in Red Sea
By Ben Finley
Jul 14, 2024, 10:49 AM
Commander Andrew "Sugar" Stoner embraces his daughter, Katherine, 7, and son, Ellis, 10, after returning to NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach on Friday, July 12, 2024. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — U.S. Navy fighter pilots came home to Virginia feeling relieved Friday after months of shooting down Houthi-launched missiles and drones off Yemen's coast in the most intense running sea battle the Navy has faced since World War II.
F/A-18 Super Hornets swooped over waiting families in a low formation before landing at their base in Virginia Beach. Dressed in green flight suits, the aviators embraced women in summer dresses and kids carrying American flags. Some handed red roses to their wives and daughters.
All the Houthi-US Navy incidents in the Middle East (that we know of)
A non-exhaustive, running list of Houthi attacks in the Middle East and the U.S. strikes back at them.
By Jonathan Lehrfeld, Diana Stancy and Geoff Ziezulewicz
"We're going to go sit down on the couch, and we're going to try and make up for nine months of lost time," Cmdr. Jaime Moreno said while hugging his two young daughters, ages 2 and 4, and kissing his wife Lynn.
Clearing the emotion from his voice, Moreno said he couldn't be prouder of his team and "everything that the last nine months have entailed."
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group, which includes three other warships, was protecting merchant vessels and allied warships under fire in a vital Red Sea corridor that leads to the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have been attacking ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain in what they say is a campaign to support the militant group Hamas in its war the Gaza against Israel, though they frequently have targeted ships with no clear links to Israel or its supporters, imperiling shipping in a key route for global trade.
The U.S. and its allies have been fighting back: One round of fire in January saw F/A-18s from the Eisenhower and other ships shoot down 18 drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis.
U.S. Navy sailors have seen incoming Houthi-launched missiles seconds before they are destroyed by their ship's defensive systems. Officials in the Pentagon have been talking about how to care for the sailors when they return home, including counseling and treatment for possible post-traumatic stress.
Strike Fighter Squadron 83 flies over families of pilots as they return to NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach on Friday, July 12, 2024. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Cmdr. Benjamin Orloff, a Navy pilot, told reporters in Virginia Beach on Friday that most of the sailors, including him, weren't used to being fired on given the nation's previous military engagements in recent decades.
"It was incredibly different," Orloff said. "And I'll be honest, it was a little traumatizing for the group. It's something that we don't think about a lot until you're presented with it."
But at the same time, Orloff said sailors responded with grit and resilience.
"What's impressive is how all those sailors turned right around — and given the threat, given that stress — continued to do their jobs beyond reproach," Orloff said, adding that it was "one of the most rewarding experiences of my life."
The carrier strike group had left Virginia in mid-October. Its deployment was extended twice because of the importance of having a powerful carrier strike group, which can launch fighter jets at a moment's notice, in the volatile region.
The months of fighting and extensions placed extra stress on roughly 7,000 sailors and their families.
Caitlyn Jeronimus, whose husband Keith is a Navy lieutenant commander and pilot, said she initially thought this deployment would be relatively easy, involving some exercises with other NATO countries. But then Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, and plans changed.
"It was going to be, if you could call it, a fun deployment where he's going to get lots of ports to visit," Jeronimus said.
She said the Eisenhower's plans continued to change, which was exacerbated by the knowledge that there were "people who want to harm the ship."
Jeronimus leaned on counselors provided by the Navy.
Her two children, aged 5 and 8, were old enough to understand "that daddy has been gone for a long time," she said. "It was stressful."
In Other News
Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group operating in the Middle East
The Theodore Roosevelt and its carrier strike group arrived in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations on Friday.
Looking for a mental health provider? Tricare's directory may not help
Auditors posed as military beneficiaries and made covert calls to see if Tricare's mental health care providers were reachable and available as advertised.
After last-ditch effort, the Gaza pier aid mission is coming to an end
The pier mission resulted in injuries to three U.S. troops earlier this year, and much of the aid has failed to reach Gazans in need.
Veterans group hits goal of recruiting 100,000 election workers
When voters head to the polls to cast ballots this November, at least one out of every 10 election workers will be a veteran or a veteran's family member.
Quieting Discord: A new frontier in military leaks and extremism
From secret Pentagon leaks to radicalization in the military community, Discord is continuing to grapple with keeping bad actors off the popular platform.
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After reading the above I can't help remembering all of us who were off the coast of North Vietnam 1972-73 flying every day over the most heavily defended area you could imagine. My brothers and I on the USS Midway left on less than 3 days notice, went straight across the Pacific to Cubi Point in the Philippines to get loaded up with ammo and spare parts and after getting the airwing Carrier qualified went straight to the coast of Vietnam and started working. We usually had 4 carriers in the gulf of Tonkin all working together.
How it started
Paul Ringwood and I went out to get some traps on the USS Midway on a beautiful Friday afternoon. As I turned the TACAN on to get the position of the ship I was headed west toward San Clemente and expected to have the needle point straight ahead but it pointed 90 degrees right so I turned and checked in with the ship and asked if they were still going to have any CQ. They replied that we had a ready deck. I had caught site of the ship by then and the wake showed it was hauling ass. Then I saw it turn west. The ship said Charlie on arrival. No aircraft in the pattern. I am thinking that we are going to get a ton of traps. I landed and started heading toward the CAT but there was nobody there and the yellow shirt was directing me toward the Island. I am thinking that something is wrong with my aircraft and as I was being tied down Worm got parked right next to me and the ship was turning back north and hauling again. We found out soon enough that we were going into Alameda and the entire airwing was going to fly in over the next 2 days and be craned aboard. Then we found out that we were leaving on the early morning tide on Monday morning and going straight to Vietnam. I think Worm and I were the only ones that had a recent trap. The weekend was very busy. We were all confined to the ship and could not leave for any reason.
So very early Monday Morning CNO came aboard and addressed us all on the flight deck and told us we were headed west. Something about we should not have joined up if we could not take a joke and left and we were underway and hauling west. We did not even get to go into Pearl Harbor. But there were a bunch of unrep ships that came along side as we passed and loaded us up.
We got to call the squadron and have folks get some things brought up to us. My little 356 Porsche was put in storage and the next time I saw it about a year later it had a big dent in the side. We had 2 RF-8s and Two F-4 escorts shot down but all returned home 3 POW and 3 chute rides to helo pick ups.
USS Midway received the Presidential Unit Citation for the cruise. If you go to visit her in San Diego it is the top ribbon painted on the Island
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People watching the shooter
Thanks to Mud
With all these people standing around commenting on a man on the roof, it appears to me that the Secret Service has a lot of explaining to do. You'll find this very short video hard to believe.
S/F,
- Mud
https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1812657793591107899
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
You can hear the roar of Africa's Victoria Falls from up to 25 miles away.
Sandwiched along the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world (literally). Nearly twice as tall as Niagara Falls, Victoria Falls plunges some 350 feet down into the basin of a vast gorge below. The steady stream of water is so powerful, it's created a rainforestlike microclimate, because its voluminous spray blankets the surrounding area continuously. Although the world largely knows this wonder as Victoria Falls (after Queen Victoria, naturally), locals have traditionally called it Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning "The Smoke that Thunders." The name is arguably a better fit, as the "thunder" of this massive waterfall can be heard from 25 miles away, and its "smoke" (aka water plume) can be seen even farther.
Victoria Falls is actually several waterfalls in one. On the Zimbabwe side, there's Devil's Cataract, Main Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Horseshoe Falls, and on the Zambia side lies the Eastern Cataract. If you want to see the waterfall at its most dramatic, visit between February and May when the summer rains, and by extension Victoria Falls itself, are at their highest volume. However, other times of year have plenty to offer, too. Between mid-August and mid-December, daring adventurers can take a dip in Devil's Pool, a swimming hole that brings those unburdened by acrophobia — fear of heights — to the very edge of the Fall's dizzying plunge.
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Thanks to History Facts
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" has a feminist twist.
B aseball is known as "America's pastime," a tradition so embedded in U.S. culture that the songwriters who penned "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in 1908 did so even though they had never actually seen a game themselves. The song's familiar chorus about snacking on Cracker Jack and rooting for the home team is often sung during the seventh-inning stretch at baseball games, but the tune's lesser-known verses have a surprisingly feminist twist.
The song tells the tale of a baseball-loving woman named Katie Casey, described in the lyrics as "mad" for the sport. Katie saw every game, knew all the players, and was confident enough in her knowledge of the rules to "[tell] the umpire he was wrong." The portrayal of a passionate female sports fan was progressive for its time, but it was not exactly factual. Instead, the lyrics are believed to have been inspired by actress and activist Trixie Friganza, who songwriter Jack Norworth was believed to be having an affair with at the time. Friganza was involved in New York's suffrage movement, and was reportedly a fan of the New York Giants. Her image also appeared on two early editions of sheet music for the song. In 1927, long after his alleged affair with Friganza had ended and seven years after women won the right to vote, Norworth slightly reimagined some of the lyrics to the famous song. He did keep his female protagonist, but inexplicably changed Katie Casey's name to Nelly Kelly.
By the Numbers
Earliest known use of the word "feminist"
1852
Amount of the largest free-agent contract in MLB history
$700 million
Years the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League existed (1943-1954)
12
Baseball cards in the National Baseball Hall of Fame collection
140,000
DID YOU KNOW?
"Happy Birthday" was originally known as "Good Morning to All."
Along with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," "Happy Birthday" is one of the most recognizable songs in history, sung in many different languages all around the world. Written in 1893 by Patty Smith Hill, a director at the Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School in Kentucky, and her sister Mildred J. Hill, an educator and musician, the song originally appeared in a book of music titled Song Stories for the Kindergarten — at least, the melody did. The tune was actually titled "Good Morning to All," and it was meant as a cheerful classroom greeting for young children, with the lyrics: "Good morning to you/Good morning to you/Good morning, dear children/Good morning to all." By March 1924, the melody appeared in a songbook with altered lyrics opening the second verse: "Happy birthday to you." It was published with incremental lyrical changes over the years, and by 1933, 40 years after its inception, the song was widely known as "Happy Birthday to You."
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Thanks to Ken
Some food for thought
Subject: If Not an Assassination Conspiracy, then a Clown-Class Shit Show
To: David Place <davidplace47@gmail.com>
1. Witness who warned of the sniper in plenty of time--unheeded by cops and Secret Service:
(BBC reporter interview)
https://x.com/sharpfootball/status/1812265909727396107?s=42&t=madgPal51fzNJUSc0nbtVA
(Other videos taken by the crowd tend to corroborate awareness and warnings of the sniper on the rooftop before the shots. That rooftop was THE best sniper location in the entire area--with a clear field of fire 130 yards to Trump. To exclude it outside the event's security perimeter was at least glaring incompetence.)
2. The same Bureau that investigated the Las Vegas shooting and the January 6th pipe bombs is now investigating the attempted assassination of Trump. This is also the same bureau that raided Mar-a-Lago. I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of this soon.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4251069/posts
3. Secret Service Director Faces Calls to Resign After Shooting at Trump Rally
4. Secret Service Under Scrutiny After Trump Assassination Attempt
5. Yes, the sniper Crooks is dead and cannot be interrogated as to motive and as to other conspirators (if any)--but given the circumstances, his getting killed by the Secret Service counter-sniper team was an imperative to neutralize the threat.
6. Reports suggest Dorkus Mayorkas and DHS for months repeatedly refused requests from the Trump campaign for increased security assets, and that the Secret Service and Pennsylvania LE resources on hand were numerically inadequate to fully cover the necessary event security perimeter. However, it appears that concerted efforts in recent months by Democrat politicians in Congress and DOJ to strip President Trump of ALL federal security protection may have been unsuccessful.
7. Corrupt Democrat-ruled Milwaukee will do what it can to facilitate disruption of the RNC next week, and perhaps enable a second shot at Trump:
Milwaukee approved every RNC protest request, vetting no one — with the list including the 'Chinese Communist Party'
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This Day in U S Military History…….July 15
1941 – Master spy Juan Pujol Garcia, nicknamed "Garbo," sends his first communique to Germany from Britain. The question was: Who was he spying for? Juan Garcia, a Spaniard, ran an elaborate multiethnic spy network that included a Dutch airline steward, a British censor for the Ministry of Information, a Cabinet office clerk, a U.S. soldier in England, and a Welshman sympathetic to fascism. All were engaged in gathering secret information on the British-Allied war effort, which was then transmitted back to Berlin. Garcia was in the pay of the Nazis. The Germans knew him as "Arabel," whereas the English knew him as Garbo. The English knew a lot more about him, in fact, than the Germans, as Garcia was a British double agent. None of Garcia's spies were real, and the disinformation he transmitted to Germany was fabricated-phony military "secrets" that the British wanted planted with the Germans to divert them from genuine military preparations and plans. Among the most effective of Garcia's deceptions took place in June 1944, when he managed to convince Hitler that the D-Day invasion of Normandy was just a "diversionary maneuver designed to draw off enemy reserves in order to make a decisive attack in another place"-playing right into the mindset of German intelligence, which had already suspected that this might be the case. (Of course, it wasn't.) Among the "agents" that Garcia employed in gathering this "intelligence" was Donny, leader of the World Aryan Order; Dick, an "Indian fanatic"; and Dorick, a civilian who lived at a North Sea port. All these men were inventions of Garcia's imagination, but they leant authenticity to his reports back to Berlin–so much so that Hitler, while visiting occupied France, awarded Garcia the Iron Cross for his service to the fatherland. That same year, 1944, Garcia received his true reward, the title of MBE-Member of the British Empire–for his service to the England and the Allied cause. This ingenious Spaniard had proved to be one of the Allies' most successful counterintelligence tools.
1942 – The first supply flight from India to China over the 'Hump' was flown to help China's war effort.
1943 – General Griswold replaces General Hester in command of operation in New Georgia. There is an air battle over Rendova in which the Americans lose 3 aircraft and claim to shoot down more than 40 Japanese planes.
1945 – American naval vessels bombard Muroran, the second biggest steel center in Japan, lying in Volcano Bay on the east side of the island of Hokkaido. Three battleships bombarded the Muroran and some 1000 carrier planes bombed the cities of Hakodati, Otaru, Abashiri, Kushiro, Asahigawa and Obihiro, all on Hokkaido.
1945 – American B-29 Superfortress bombers, based in the Marianna Islands, raided an oil refinery at Kudamatsu on Honshu Island while fighters and bombers from Okinawa attacked objectives on Kyushu and southern Honshu.
1950 – F-80s accounted for 85 percent of the enemy's losses to air attack. Far East Air Forces Commander, Lieutenant General George E. Stratemeyer, stated that he wouldn't trade the F-80 for all the F-47s and F-51s he could get. "It does a wonderful job in ground support and can take care of the top-side job if enemy jets appear."
1953 – U.S. Air Force Captain James Jabara, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, qualified as the second and last "triple ace" of the war — 15 kills. He also was the second ranking jet ace of the war.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
MORRISON, JOHN G.
Rank and organization: Coxswain, U.S. Navy. Entered service at: Lansingburg, N.Y. Born: 3 November 1842, Ireland G.O. No.: 59, 22 June 1865. Citation: Serving as coxswain on board the U.S.S. Carondelet, Morrison was commended for meritorious conduct in general and especially for his heroic conduct and his inspiring example to the crew in the engagement with the rebel ram Arkansas, Yazoo River, 15 July 1862. When the Carondelet was badly cut up, several of her crew killed, many wounded and others almost suffocated from the effects of escaped steam, Morrison was the leader when boarders were called on deck, and the first to return to the guns and give the ram a broadside as she passed. His presence of mind in time of battle or trial is reported as always conspicuous and encouraging.
ROBINSON, THOMAS
Rank and organizarion: Captain of the Afterguard, U.S. Navy. Born: 17 May 1837, Norway. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 77, 1 August 1866. Citation: For heroic efforts to save from drowning Wellington Brocar, landsman, of the Tallapoosa, off New Orleans, 15 July 1866.
BUCHANAN, DAVID M.
Rank and organization: Apprentice, U.S. Navy. Born: 1862, Philadelphia, Pa. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 246, 22 July 1879. Citation: On board the U.S.S. Saratoga off Battery, New York Harbor, 15 July 1879. On the morning of this date, Robert Lee Robey, apprentice, fell overboard from the after part of the ship into the tide which was running strong ebb at the time and, not being an expert swimmer, was in danger of drowning. Instantly springing over the rail after him, Buchanan never hesitated for an instant to remove even a portion of his clothing. Both men were picked up by the ship's boat following this act of heroism.
HAYDEN, JOHN
Rank and organization: Apprentice, U.S. Navy. Born: 1863, Washington, D.C. Accredited to: Washington, D.C. G.O. No.: 246, 22 July 1879. Citation: On board the U.S. Training Ship Saratoga. On the morning of 15 July 1879, while the Saratoga was anchored off the Battery, in New York Harbor, R. L. Robey, apprentice, fell overboard. As the tide was running strong ebb, the man, not being an expert swimmer, was in danger of drowning. David M. Buchanan, apprentice, instantly, without removing any of his clothing, jumped after him. Stripping himself, Hayden stood coolly watching the 2 in the water, and when he thought his services were required, made a dive from the rail and came up alongside them and rendered assistance until all 3 were picked up by a boat from the ship.
HAYS, GEORGE PRICE
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army 10th Field Artillery, 3d Division. Place and date: Near Greves Farm, France, 14-15 July 1918. Entered service at: Okarche, Oklahoma. Born: 27 September 1892, China. G.O. No.: 34, W.D., 1919. Citation: At the very outset of the unprecedented artillery bombardment by the enemy, his line of communication was destroyed beyond repair. Despite the hazard attached to the mission of runner, he immediately set out to establish contact with the neighboring post of command and further establish liaison with 2 French batteries, visiting their position so frequently that he was mainly responsible for the accurate fire therefrom. While thus engaged, 7 horses were shot under him and he was severely wounded. His activity under most severe fire was an important factor in checking the advance of the enemy.
Another Nise
*OTANI, KAZUO
Staff Sergeant Kazuo Otani distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 15 July 1944, near Pieve Di S. Luce, Italy. Advancing to attack a hill objective, Staff Sergeant Otani's platoon became pinned down in a wheat field by concentrated fire from enemy machine gun and sniper positions. Realizing the danger confronting his platoon, Staff Sergeant Otani left his cover and shot and killed a sniper who was firing with deadly effect upon the platoon. Followed by a steady stream of machine gun bullets, Staff Sergeant Otani then dashed across the open wheat field toward the foot of a cliff, and directed his men to crawl to the cover of the cliff. When the movement of the platoon drew heavy enemy fire, he dashed along the cliff toward the left flank, exposing himself to enemy fire. By attracting the attention of the enemy, he enabled the men closest to the cliff to reach cover. Organizing these men to guard against possible enemy counterattack, Staff Sergeant Otani again made his way across the open field, shouting instructions to the stranded men while continuing to draw enemy fire. Reaching the rear of the platoon position, he took partial cover in a shallow ditch and directed covering fire for the men who had begun to move forward. At this point, one of his men became seriously wounded. Ordering his men to remain under cover, Staff Sergeant Otani crawled to the wounded soldier who was lying on open ground in full view of the enemy. Dragging the wounded soldier to a shallow ditch, Staff Sergeant Otani proceeded to render first aid treatment, but was mortally wounded by machine gun fire. Staff Sergeant Otani's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for July 15, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
15 July
1920: KEY EVENT. Capt St. Clair Street led a flight of four DH-4s from Mitchel Field, New York, to Nome, Alaska, and back to Mitchel Field, covering 8,690 miles in 110 flying hours. (U.S. Air Service, "To Nome and Back," Clifford A. Tinker, Vol 3, No. 5) 1925: Dr. A. Hamilton Rice's Expedition, with Lt Walter Hinton piloting the Curtiss Seagull plane, returned from the Amazon after discovering the headwaters of the Amazon River. Rice's expedition was the first to use a plane for exploring. (24)
1933: Through 22 July, Wiley Post completed the first solo global flight in a Lockheed Vega, the "Winnie Mae." He flew the 15,596 miles in 7 days 18 hours 49 minutes at an average speed of 134.5 MPH. (9) (20)
1950: KOREAN WAR. The 51 FS (Provisional) at Taegu flew the first F-51 Mustang combat missions in Korea. Fifth Air Force assigned the "Mosquito" call signs to airborne controllers in T-6 aircraft. This name later became the aircraft's identifier. (28)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Fifth Air Force fighter-bombers flew approximately 175 sorties against the Sungho-ri cement plant and a nearby locomotive repair facility. (28)
1954: The first jet-powered transport built in the US, the Boeing 707, the prototype for the KC-135 Stratotanker and the commercial Stratoliner, underwent flight testing near Seattle. (16) (24)
1958: Operation BLUE BAT. After the Iraqi government fell, tensions increased in Lebanon. This strain led Lebanon's President to seek US security assistance. TAC dispatched its Composite Air Strike Force BRAVO to the Middle East in 12 hours. By the 8 September end of the crisis, MATS aircraft had moved 5,500 passengers and 5,500 tons of cargo in 314 missions to support the strike force. (2) (24) 1961: The 341 SMW activated at Malmstrom AFB as SAC's first silo-based Minuteman wing. (1) (6)
1965: The Air Force awarded the first Minuteman III R&D contract to Boeing. (6)
1968: Commercial air service between the US and USSR began when an Ilyushin-62 aircraft of the Soviet flag carrier Aeroflot left Moscow. The aircraft landed at Kennedy IAP on 16 July after a 13-hour, 17-minute flight via Montreal. Pan American World Airways, the US flag carrier, flew two Boeing 707s from New York on 16 July to Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport via Copenhagen.
1970: Deputy SECDEF David Packard approved the Subsonic Cruise Aircraft Decoy (SCAD) for development. (6)
1973: LAST SEA COMBAT MISSION/VIETNAM SUMMARY. All US bombing in Cambodia ended after eight years of conventional operations in SEA. An A-7D from 354 TFW flew the last combat mission in SEA. Altogether, the USAF flew 5.25 million sorties over South Vietnam, North Vietnam, northern and southern Laos, and Cambodia. The USAF lost 2,251 planes—1,737 to hostile action and 514 for operational reasons—at a cost of $3,129,948,000. During the Vietnam War, tactical or intratheater airlift carried 7 million tons of passengers and cargo between 1962-1973. The Air Force Reserve made valuable contributions to strategic airlift operation. By October 1972, reserve aircrews had made 1,294 trips to Vietnam, delivering 30,434 tons of cargo and 3,600 personnel. Between 1964 and mid-August 1973, air rescue operations in Southeast Asia saved 3,883 lives. And from 9 June 1964 through 15 August 1973, KC-135s flew 194,687 sorties to supply 8,964 million pounds of fuel during 813,878 refuelings. They also routinely airlifted people, equipment, and aircraft parts between the US, forward bases, and bases in the Far East and Southeast Asia. (16) (26)
1975: Apollo XVIII. Astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand, and Donald "Deke" Slayton launched from Cape Canaveral to meet up with the Soyuz 19 cosmonauts. Mr. Slayton, at 51, became the oldest man to fly in space. He was also one of the original seven astronauts. This Apollo mission, when it ended on 24 July, was the last US manned space mission until the first space shuttle launch in 1981. (8: Jul 90)
1976: Mather AFB started interservice navigator training for Navy and Marine personnel. (16) (26)
1981: The first TR-1, a high-altitude tactical reconnaissance aircraft rolled out at Lockheed's plant in Palmdale. (12)
1982: SAC launched its 1,500 missile from Vandenberg AFB. (16) (26)
1985: Exercise READEX 85-2. Two B-52s from the 42 BMW simulated Harpoon launches as part of this US Atlantic Command exercise. The event marked the first Full Operational Test and Evaluation (FOT&E) of the Harpoon anti-ship missile. (16) (26)
1998: Raytheon Aircraft Company's first T-6A Texan II aircraft, or the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS), successfully completed its initial flight at Wichita, Kan. To meet Air Force and Navy primary aircraft training needs, the DoD decided to buy 740 T-6A aircraft, along with the accompanying JPATS Ground Based Training System. (AFNEWS Article 981039, 17 Jul 98)
2000: Whiteman AFB received the final B-2A from Northrop Grumman. It was the first test vehicle (AV-1 or Tail No. 82-1066), named Fatal Beauty. With its assignment to the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, the aircraft received a new name, Spirit of America. (21)
2002: The first production C-17 (P-86), fitted with the Block 13 software upgrade, arrived at McChord AFB. The Block 13 upgrade included a state-of-the-art Terrain Awareness Warning System (TAWS) and improved Station Keeping Equipment (SKE). The TAWS featured a terrain map to help aircrews detect and avoid terrain, while the upgraded SKE had a multi-functional display that enabled 18 aircraft to fly in formation within 10 nautical miles and up to 100 aircraft to fly in formation within 100 nautical miles. The new SKEs also allowed C-17 aircrews to perform formation airdrops in nearly all types of weather. (22)
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