To All,
Good Wednesday Morning August 7. Same old Stuff different day. Cooling off to 85 today and the chickens need to be fed as soon as I send this one out. It is mid week so you will soon be over the Hump.
Warm 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/. Go here to see the director's corner for all 83 H-Grams
This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History:
August 7
1782 The Badge of Military Merit, now known as the Purple Heart, is established by Gen. George Washington.
1899 Five officers and 121 enlisted Marines commanded by Maj. Allen C. Kelton, USMC, land at Agana, Guam, from USS Yosemite, as a garrison for the naval station which is later established.
1918 Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is established as the Naval Mine Depot when President Woodrow Wilson signs proclamation.
1942 During the Guadalcanal Campaign, the armada led by Rear Adm. Richmond K. Turner lands Marines on Guadalcanal and seizes a nearly-complete airfield at Guadalcanal's Lunga Point in the first U.S. land offensive of World War II. To the north, Tulagi Island, and a few miles to the east, Tanambogo and Gavutu Islands, Marines also land and fight bitter battles, concluding a few days after. Nonetheless, the campaigns final outcome is in doubt for nearly four months and is not certain until the Japanese evacuate their surviving troops at Guadalcanal on Feb. 8, 1943.
1943 TBF and F4F (VC 1) from USS Card (CVE 11) sink the German submarine (U 117) west of the Azores.
1972 Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo Zumwalt Jr. issues Z-Gram 116, which enables Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women in the US Navy.
1990 Operation Desert Shield is ordered by President George H.W. Bush. Desert Shield is the largest overseas deployment since Vietnam, to protect Saudi Arabia after Iraqi's invasion of Kuwait.
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Today in World History August 7
1782 General George Washington authorizes the award of the Purple Heart for soldiers wounded in combat.
1864 Union troops capture part of Confederate General Jubal Early's army at Moorefield, West Virginia.
1888 Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia receives a patent for the revolving door.
1906 In North Carolina, a mob defies a court order and lynches three African Americans which becomes known as "The Lyerly Murders."
1916 Persia forms an alliance with Britain and Russia.
1922 The Irish Republican Army cuts the cable link between the United States and Europe at Waterville landing station.
1934 In Washington, the U.S. Court of Appeals rules that the government can neither confiscate nor ban James Joyce's novel Ulysses.
1936 The United States declares non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War.
1942 The U.S. 1st Marine Division under General A. A. Vandegrift lands on the islands of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon islands. This is the first American amphibious landing of the war.
1944 German forces launch a major counter attack against U.S. forces near Mortain, France.
1964 Congress overwhelmingly passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing the president to use unlimited military force to prevent attacks on U.S. forces.
1966 The United States loses seven planes over North Vietnam, the most in the war up to this point.
1971 Apollo 15 returns to Earth. The mission to the moon had marked the first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
1973 A U.S. plane accidentally bombs a Cambodian village, killing 400 civilians.
1976 The US Viking 2 spacecraft goes into orbit around Mars.
1981 The Washington (D.C.) Star ceases publication after 128 years.
1984 Japan defeats the United States to win the Olympic Gold in baseball.
1987 Presidents of five Central American nations sign a peace accord in Guatemala.
1990 Operation Desert Shield begins as US troops deploy to Saudi Arabia to discourage Iraq's Saddam Hussein from invading that country as he had Kuwait.
2007 Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks Hank Aaron's record with his 756th home run. Bonds' accomplishments were clouded by allegations of illegal steroid use and lying to a grand jury.
Today is National Purple Heart day!
Purple Heart Ceremony at Mount Vernon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORdBG2QNFbg
Did you know George Washington created the first United States military award, originally known as the military badge of merit, now known as the Purple Heart? We meet with Col. Gordon Sumner to learn more about the legacy of the Purple Heart award, and about the ceremony held at Mount Vernon on Purple Heart day every year.
History: Today is August 7th, on this date back in 1782 George Washington creates the Purple Heart
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 5 August 2024 and concluding Sunday, 11 August 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 4 August 1969… A bit about Bob Scott's book "God Is My Copilot," with a link to Barrett Tillman's superb 2018 short bio: "Colonel Robert Lee Scott, Jr: God's Pilot."… also: remembering the hundreds of heroic Forward Air Controllers who were killed in action in SEAsia…
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 7 August
7-Aug: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1285
If memory serves me correctly I think that Mike was surrounded by local farmers AND ONE TRIED TO CUT HIS HEAD OFF WITH A SHOVEL UNTIL THE ARMY CAME IIN AND SAVED HIM…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
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Thanks to Dr. Rich ……I got so far behind that I did not add this to a List and apologize for that..Skip
Remembering Dick Rutan
https://youtu.be/PI0g9amSDXI?si=Z66g2vUCYwRUxtZZ
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AAF air support at Guadalcanal
Thanks to Boris and Barrtett who wrote "I knew several Cactus AF survivors of all branches. The AAFers said that a P-400 was a P-40 with a Zero behind it. (Optimized for low-medium altitude hence the CAS employment.")
General Head Sir, Have to be careful here as a Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club alumni giving accolades to the Air Force but given the CAS aspects of the book and your 325 A-1 missions in Vietnam, thought you might appreciate an Air Corps story on the anniversary of Operation Watchtower - the Marines landing on Guadalcanal.
The attached amplifies the picture of the Bell P-400 Airacobra CAS mission in support of Marines under LtCol "Red Mike" Edson at Bloody Ridge, and is an excerpt from 1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier; Part 15 – Guadalcanal, From the Start, A New and Different Context; Cactus (4/4) Click below for story
http://rememberedsky.com/?p=2287
The flight lead Capt. Thompson would receive a Navy Cross and his wingmen Silver Stars.
V/R
Boris
1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier; Part 15 – Guadalcanal, From the Start, A New and Different Context; Cactus (4/4)
(Excerpt)
Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Ernest King pushed hard in Washington for operations in the Pacific – Navy ops. The victory at Midway gave him the leverage he needed in the Europe first Washington D.C. comings and goings. King directed Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, Chester Nimitz to move out and thus began the push to move to the offensive by invading Guadalcanal. The number of ships would grow close to ninety, vastly more than say the Wake Island or Doolittle events. As noted previously it combined land, sea and air combat capability as never before. Watchtower was indeed a recognized gamble, and yet, the planning was seriously short of consideration of that complexity and what situations might evolve, not the least of this would be the lack of early land based air.
There is no Japanese defeat in the Solomons without the defense of Henderson Field and the combat flying of the Cactus Air Force.
... Living conditions on Guadalcanal were some of the most difficult ever faced by Marine aviation. Pilots and mechanics lived in mud-floored tents in a flooded coconut plantation called "Mosquito Grove." Most contracted tropical diseases such as malaria, dysentery, dengue fever, or fungal infections.
The misery was accompanied by mortal danger. The airfield was bombed nearly every day around noon by 20 to 40 Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers flying at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) in a perfect "Vee formation" escorted by fighter planes. It was frequently shelled as well, by Japanese artillery in the day and Japanese warships at night. (The worst night of bombardment was on 13–14 October 1942, when two Japanese battleships fired more than 700 heavy shells into the airfield, providing cover for the Japanese Navy's landing of Marine and army reinforcements further west on Guadalcanal.) ... As the battle for Guadalcanal continued, USMC and AAF aircraft losses mounted. On 10 September, only eleven F4Fs, twenty-two SBD dive-bombers, and three P-400s were available for the next crucial CAS mission on 14 September during the defense of Bloody Ridge.
... Only two thousand yards to the south of Henderson Field lay Bloody Ridge where Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson's 1st Raider Battalion had established a last line of defense against an expected Japanese attack out of the jungles to the south. What Edson's battalion did not know was that a Japanese brigade over 2,000 strong was preparing to attack on the night of 13 September. The Japanese attackers mounted two major assaults before midnight. Edson's Battalion bent but did not break, falling back a few yards at a time into successive positions along the ridge toward the airfield. If the Japanese could break the thin Marine line, the airfield would be theirs for the taking.
Before sunup on 14 September, an officer from the 1st Raider Battalion met with the commander of the 67th FS, Captain Thompson. Using a crude map, he described the precarious situation and requested a CAS mission at first light. Thompson agreed and had his flight of three P-400s at the end of the runway just before sunup. As dawn began to break, Thompson's flight departed.
Bloody Ridge was located almost within the aircraft traffic pattern around the airfield and Thompson kept the Marine position in view as his aircraft lifted off the ground and began a slight turn to the south. Maintaining altitude just above the trees, Thompson led his flight below the level of Bloody Ridge and pointed at the suspected Japanese assembly area. When the area came into view, Thompson spotted large groups of Japanese soldiers massing for an attack and he immediately began to fire.
After two passes, Thompson's and another aircraft, piloted by Lieutenant B. W. Brown, were critically damaged by small arms fire and had to make emergency landings back at the airfield while the third P-400, piloted by Lieutenant B. E. Davis, continued to strafe until out of ammunition.
The Japanese attack was repulsed by the iron defense of the 1 st Raider Battalion, but Thompson's CAS mission had thrown the final weight that broke the Japanese assault. Later that afternoon, Vandegrift visited Thompson, Davis, and Brown saying, "You'll never read it in the papers, but that three P-400 mission of yours saved Guadalcanal."
For their part in this decisive battle, Thompson was awarded the Navy Cross and his wingmen, Lieutenants Davis and Brown, received the Silver Star.
The Battle of Bloody Ridge is a story of almost unimaginable valor, perseverance and sacrifice on the part of the Marine defenders of Henderson Field. But the story would be incomplete without a concluding chapter dedicated to the Thompson-led ground support mission. Its contribution is perhaps best defined by the desperate circumstances of the moment and measured by its impact on the tactical and strategic situation. For while Henderson Field would be the target of future Japanese assaults, in the aftermath of Bloody Ridge it remained—and would continue to remain—in American hands.
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
7 Amazing Facts About Mount Everest
For mountaineers looking to climb the world's most challenging peaks, Everest is the top prize. At 29,032 feet, Everest is the highest mountain in the world in terms of elevation and the crown jewel of the Himalayas. (Overall, the region is home to nine of the 10 highest peaks in the world, with the exception being K2 in the Karakoram range.) Although its height is its most touted feature, Mount Everest is the subject of many incredible facts — some of which stretch 50 million years into the past.
Mount Everest Has Many Names
Beginning in 1802, the Great Trigonometrical Survey was a massive undertaking to painstakingly survey the entire Indian subcontinent (then a colony of Britain). British surveyor George Everest served as the Surveyor General of India for 13 years (1830 to 1843) before retiring and returning to Britain.
In 1865, a mountain previously named "Gamma," "peak b," and finally "Peak VX" received a new name that finally stuck — Mount Everest. Everest's name was put forward in 1856 by his successor, Andrew Scott Waugh, in honor of his friend and mentor. However, the traditional Tibetan name of the mountain is Chomolungma, which means "Goddess Mother of the World." The Sanskrit name is Sagarmatha, or "Peak of Heaven."
Sir George Everest, military engineer, 1854-1866.
Although George Everest dedicated his life to surveying the Indian subcontinent, he never traveled to Nepal, and likely never saw the famous peak that now bears his name. His closest connection with the mountain was through his protégé Andrew Scott Waugh, who made the first scientific observations of the mountain and announced its height at 8,840 meters (29,002 feet) in 1856. This height surpassed Kangchenjunga, a nearby mountain then considered the world's highest peak. Although K2 came close to knocking it out of the top spot, no other mountain has ever surpassed Everest's impressive stature.
Everest Started Forming 50 Million Years Ago
About 50 million years ago, only 5 or 6 million years after the cataclysmic end of the dinosaurs, the Indian subcontinent — traveling some 15 centimeters per year — closed an ancient sea named Tethys and collided with the Eurasian continent. As the two tectonic plates buckled, they formed a dramatic uplift that created Everest along with the rest of the Himalayan mountain chain. Additionally, Everest's location near the Tropic of Cancer means that mountain glaciers (ice masses that carve away most mountains) are relatively small on Everest, which is part of why it remains so impressively massive to this day.
Everest Grows 4 Millimeters Per Year
Everest is already the highest peak above sea level, and it's still growing. The ancient collision that formed the mountain many millions of years ago is still ongoing, as India continues to advance northward about 2 inches per year. In fact, in 10 million years, India will plow into Tibet by more than 100 miles, effectively erasing the country of Nepal. Through all this tectonic drama, Everest will continue climbing an additional 4 millimeters, or roughly 0.16 inches, per year.
Mount Everest Is the World's Highest Mountain — But Not the Tallest
Everything's relative when it comes to measuring the tallest mountain in the world. Going off of a mountain's number of feet above sea level is what gives Everest the crown, but there are other contenders for the globe's tallest peak. The most obvious one is Mauna Kea, a shield volcano in Hawaii that is the tallest mountain in the world when measured from base to peak. In total, Mauna Kea is about 33,000 feet — roughly 4,000 feet taller than Everest.
Another contender is Mount Chimborazo. At 20,564 feet above sea level, this mountain in Ecuador doesn't even come close to Everest's height. However, when measuring from the center of the Earth, Mount Chimborazo gets a big boost by being located near the equator. Because the planet bulges at its middle due to the centrifugal forces produced by its rotation, Mount Chimborazo is actually around 6,800 feet taller than Everest.
Jumping Spiders Are the Only Permanent Residents on Everest
The high altitude of Everest makes it difficult for life to thrive on its slopes — difficult but not impossible. The Himalayan jumping spider is the only known permanent resident on Mount Everest, making it one of the highest-living species on Earth. This impressive feat is even honored in its scientific name, Euophrys omnisuperstes, which means "standing above everything." Because the spider needs to feed on other insects, it likely feasts on flies and other bugs blown up from lower altitudes, as part of what's known as an Aeolian Biome.
Sherpas Have Evolved To Be Everest-Summiting Pros
The Sherpa people are a tribe native to Nepal, Tibet, and the Himalayan region, and are often guides for foreign adventurers looking to reach the top of Everest and other Himalayan peaks. Scientists have studied the biology of these Native people and discovered that Sherpas have evolved over thousands of years to be excellent climbers in high altitudes.
Climbing Everest's peak involves a variety of challenges, but one of the deadliest is hypoxia and altitude sicknesses known as HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema) or HACE (high altitude cerebral edema) — all results of the body's inability to function properly in low-oxygen environments. With the first known Sherpas living in the region some 30,000 years ago, this tribal group's mitochondria are much more efficient at using oxygen when it's scarce compared to "lowlanders." This amazing ability is why Sherpas hold many mountaineering records, including the most ascents of Everest by a single person (26).
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Thanks to Bret
https://geopoliticalfutures.com
Daily Memo: The Link Between Two Wars
By George Friedman
Aug 7, 2024
Over the past few days, two statements have come to redefine the Middle East – though they were issued not by Israel or Hamas but by the belligerents in a conflict more than a thousand miles away. The first came from Moscow, which said the conflict in Ukraine would be resolved by the end of 2024. The other came from Kyiv, which gave a similar timeframe for a resolution.
Russia's strategy at the outset of the invasion was to crush Ukraine quickly and decisively. Ukraine's strategy was to resist long enough to exhaust the Russian will to fight. Neither was successful, and the war has pressed on for over two years. The announcements that the conflict would soon be over, then, were more of a problem for Russia than Ukraine since its reputation for having a formidable army was shattered. In war, success can turn into failure in a matter of days, and the two statements did not seem to be a coordinated effort. Nothing is certain until it is done. Still, the rationale behind both statements seems sound considering the history and current state of the war.
In the meantime, Ukraine must rebuild an economy that not only sustains itself but puts Ukraine on a level relative to the rest of Europe, all while rapidly generating military supplies that can deter further Russian action. Russia's task is somewhat different. It invaded Ukraine to give itself strategic depth from NATO. Having failed to occupy the country, Moscow has the same imperative but must now look for other, less optimal buffer zones. This may prompt the Kremlin to enhance its influence, and perhaps establish better deterrence, in other potential avenues into Russia – the Baltics, Poland, Hungary and the Balkans, to name just a few. For Moscow, these can be managed politically and economically, so it isn't exclusively a military matter, but geography dictates that the military threat remains.
Russia must also maintain the balance in the Caucasus, where threats to southern Russia can emanate and where the U.S. and NATO lurk. Perhaps the most important nation in this region is Iran, which is linked by religion and culture to Azerbaijan, a Caucasian nation that poses a potential threat to Russia if backed by a significantly powerful nation. Azerbaijan has served as a buffer between Russia and Iran and is now allied with Russia. Dominating the Caucasus is difficult, but a potential opportunity has opened up in the Middle East.
There is a credible threat of war between Iran on one side and Israel and the United States on the other. The U.S. has little to gain from a war but much to lose. Russia supports such a war, as it would trap the U.S. far to the Russian south while opening the door to Russian support and influence. It would also open the possibility of joint ventures with Iran in the Caucasus via Azerbaijan. Russia and Iran have the same enemy in the U.S. and a network of nations friendly to them both. Together, they make a formidable force. If Russia had influence over a state it previously did not have strong relations with, it would put Russia in a powerful position, particularly after the hit it took in Ukraine. Russia would secure its southern flank and position itself well for future operations.
As it stands, Moscow appears to be sending weapons to Iran while Israel is preparing for a major offensive to which Washington is opposed. This rift is yet another gift to the Russians since it weakens a U.S.-Israel relationship that has been a constant threat to Russian interests in the Middle East. For its part, Iran is wary of a relationship with Russia and the baggage it might bring. But a war could nudge Tehran closer to Moscow despite its misgivings.
This is the link between the Ukraine war and the Arab-Israeli war. The U.S. may find itself fighting a war against Iran when it does not want to. But Russia dominating the Caucasus and having Iran as an ally would make up for its underperformance in Ukraine. It would make Russia a power in the Middle East and put the U.S. in a position of either abandoning the battlefield (and appearing defeated) or entering a brutal and dangerous war (which Russia, through its relationship with Iran, would have some degree of control over).
This may not come to pass, of course. But Israel is on a rampage, the U.S. is riding along, Russia needs a win after Ukraine, and Iran wants to be a major player. This scenario is not as unlikely as it may seem.
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Thanks to History Facts
Thirty-nine baseball Hall of Famers served in World War II.
They don't call it the Greatest Generation for nothing. Of the hundreds of ballplayers who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, 39 belong to an extra-special class: those who served in the military during World War II. That list includes such all-time greats as Yogi Berra (Navy), Ted Williams (Marines), Jackie Robinson (Army), and Joe DiMaggio (Army), all of whom put up some of the most impressive numbers in baseball history despite losing several years of their careers while on active duty. Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, did so after attaining the rank of second lieutenant as part of the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion — a segregated unit whose motto was "Come Out Fighting." Like baseball, the military did not officially desegregate until after the war.
Anyone who's seen A League of Their Own knows that World War II led to another massive change in the sport: the creation of women's leagues, most notably the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Active in the Midwest between 1943 and 1954, the league consisted of 15 teams whose players were themselves inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
That belt plus the air bag ( 26 years old) let me walk away with no injury except sadness when I totaled my 96 Impala SS early last year but I did receive enough 27K to buy a new car…..skip
Volvo gave away its seat belt patent to save lives.
Few people in history are credited with saving millions of lives, but one person who did so worked for Volvo. Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin's improvement on the three-point seat belt has helped drivers (and passengers) safely reach their destination for more than six decades.
Seat belts are a standard feature in today's cars and trucks, but it hasn't always been that way. In the 1950s and '60s, car manufacturers weren't required to include safety belts in vehicles. When they were built in, the earliest seat belts were simple two-point restraints that secured across the waist (aka lap belts). While a step in the right direction, lap belts had some downsides — they didn't protect the upper body during a collision and could even cause injuries during high-speed crashes. A three-point design was created in 1951 by Americans Roger W. Griswold and Hugh DeHaven, but it never took off, likely because it was uncomfortable.
Recognizing these issues, Swedish carmaker Volvo hired Bohlin (a former aviation engineer who helped create pilot ejection seats) as the company's safety engineer, and tasked him with a redesign. Bohlin's creation — a more comfortable V-shaped belt that stays in position across both the chest and hips — was drafted in under a year, and is the style used in cars today. Volvo quickly added the belts to its cars in 1959, before the inventor even secured a patent. But when he did, Bohlin and Volvo didn't look to profit off the safety feature. Instead, they released the design publicly, urging all car manufacturers to add the upgraded belts. After years of presentations and crash test dummy demos, Volvo eventually made headway — the evidence of which is found in our cars today and credited with saving lives around the world.
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This Day in U S Military History
1782 – At his headquarters in Newburgh, New York, General George Washington, the commander in chief of the Continental Army, creates the "Badge for Military Merit," a decoration consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk, edged with a narrow binding of silver, with the word Merit stitched across the face in silver. The badge was to be presented to soldiers for "any singularly meritorious action" and permitted its wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge. The honoree's name and regiment were also to be inscribed in a "Book of Merit." Washington's "Purple Heart" was awarded to only three known soldiers during the Revolutionary War: Elijah Churchill, William Brown, and Daniel Bissell, Jr. The "Book of Merit" was lost, and the decoration was largely forgotten until 1927, when General Charles P. Summerall, the U.S. Army chief of staff, sent an unsuccessful draft bill to Congress to "revive the Badge of Military Merit." In 1931, Summerall's successor, General Douglas MacArthur, took up the cause, hoping to reinstate the medal in time for the bicentennial of George Washington's birth. On February 22, 1932, Washington's 200th birthday, the U.S. War Department announced the creation of the "Order of the Purple Heart." In addition to aspects of Washington's original design, the new Purple Heart also displays a bust of Washington and his coat of arms. The Order of the Purple Heart, the oldest American military decoration for military merit, is awarded to members of the U.S. armed forces who have been killed or wounded in action against an enemy. It is also awarded to soldiers who have suffered maltreatment as prisoners of war.
1794 – In the summer of 1794, irate farmers in the Monoghaela Valley of Pennsylvania rose up against the federal tax on liquor and stills. During the so-called Whiskey Rebellion, the farmers extracted their revenge by torching tax collector's homes, as well as "tarring and feathering revenue officers." The government moved quickly to quell the rebellion: President Washington called in 12,900 Federal troops from to surrounding states to forcefully usher the farmers back to their homes.
1942 – The U.S. 1st Marine Division begins Operation Watchtower, the first U.S. offensive of the war, by landing on Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon Islands. On July 6, 1942, the Japanese landed on Guadalcanal Island and began constructing an airfield there. Operation Watchtower was the codename for the U.S. plan to invade Guadalcanal and the surrounding islands. During the attack, American troops landed on five islands within the Solomon chain. Although the invasion came as a complete surprise to the Japanese (bad weather had grounded their scouting aircraft), the landings on Florida, Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tananbogo met much initial opposition from the Japanese defenders. But the Americans who landed on Guadalcanal met little resistance-at least at first. More than 11,000 Marines had landed, and 24 hours had passed, before the Japanese manning the garrison there knew of the attack. The U.S. forces quickly took their main objective, the airfield, and the outnumbered Japanese troops retreated, but not for long. Reinforcements were brought in, and fierce hand-to-hand jungle fighting ensued. "I have never heard or read of this kind of fighting," wrote one American major general on the scene. "These people refuse to surrender." The Americans were at a particular disadvantage, being assaulted from both the sea and air. But the U.S. Navy was able to reinforce its troops to a greater extent, and by February 1943, the Japanese had retreated on secret orders of their emperor (so secret, the Americans did not even know it had taken place until they began happening upon abandoned positions, empty boats, and discarded supplies). In total, the Japanese had lost more than 25,000 men, compared with a loss of 1,600 by the Americans. Each side lost 24 warships. The first Medal of Honor given to a Marine was awarded to Sgt. John Basilone for his fighting during Operation Watchtower. According to the recommendation for his medal, he "contributed materially to the defeat and virtually the annihilation of a Japanese regiment."
1942 – Landings at Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands commenced. This first Allied invasion in the Pacific proved to be a critical battle. Coast Guard manned transports, including the USS Hunter Liggett, participated in the invasion. Many of the landing craft were crewed by Coast Guardsmen. A Coast Guard officer, LCDR Dwight H. Dexter, and 25 Coast Guardsmen went ashore from the Liggett with their landing craft to set up a naval operating base on Lunga Point. Signalman 1/c Douglas Munro, later killed at Guadalcanal, was a member of Dexter's command. The Liggett rescued 686 survivors of the Navy cruisers USS Vincennes, Astoria, and Quincy and the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra that had been sunk in the Battle of Savo Island on the night of 9 August 1942.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BENDER, STANLEY
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company E, 7th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near La Lande, France, 17 August 1944. Entered service at: Chicago, 111. Born: 31 October 1909, Carlisle, W. Va. G.O. No.: 7, 1 February 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 17 August 1944, near La Lande, France, he climbed on top of a knocked-out tank, in the face of withering machinegun fire which had halted the advance of his company, in an effort to locate the source of this fire. Although bullets ricocheted off the turret at his feet, he nevertheless remained standing upright in full view of the enemy for over 2 minutes. Locating the enemy machineguns on a knoll 200 yards away, he ordered 2 squads to cover him and led his men down an irrigation ditch, running a gauntlet of intense machinegun fire, which completely blanketed 50 yards of his advance and wounded 4 of his men. While the Germans hurled hand grenades at the ditch, he stood his ground until his squad caught up with him, then advanced alone, in a wide flanking approach, to the rear of the knoll. He walked deliberately a distance of 40 yards, without cover, in full view of the Germans and under a hail of both enemy and friendly fire, to the first machinegun and knocked it out with a single short burst. Then he made his way through the strong point, despite bursting hand grenades, toward the second machinegun, 25 yards distant, whose 2-man crew swung the machinegun around and fired two bursts at him, but he walked calmly through the fire and, reaching the edge of the emplacement, dispatched the crew. Signaling his men to rush the rifle pits, he then walked 35 yards further to kill an enemy rifleman and returned to lead his squad in the destruction of the 8 remaining Germans in the strong point. His audacity so inspired the remainder of the assault company that the men charged out of their positions, shouting and yelling, to overpower the enemy roadblock and sweep into town, knocking out 2 antitank guns, killing 37 Germans and capturing 26 others. He had sparked and led the assault company in an attack which overwhelmed the enemy, destroying a roadblock, taking a town, seizing intact 3 bridges over the Maravenne River, and capturing commanding terrain which dominated the area.
*PEASE, HARL, JR. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army Air Corps, Heavy Bombardment Squadron. Place and date: Near Rabaul, New Britain, 6-7 August 1942. Entered service at: Plymouth, N.H. Birth: Plymouth, N.H. G.O. No.: 59, 4 November 1942. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy on 6-7 August 1942. When 1 engine of the bombardment airplane of which he was pilot failed during a bombing mission over New Guinea, Capt. Pease was forced to return to a base in Australia. Knowing that all available airplanes of his group were to participate the next day in an attack on an enemy-held airdrome near Rabaul, New Britain, although he was not scheduled to take part in this mission, Capt. Pease selected the most serviceable airplane at this base and prepared it for combat, knowing that it had been found and declared unserviceable for combat missions. With the members of his combat crew, who volunteered to accompany him, he rejoined his squadron at Port Moresby, New Guinea, at 1 a.m. on 7 August, after having flown almost continuously since early the preceding morning. With only 3 hours' rest, he took off with his squadron for the attack. Throughout the long flight to Rabaul, New Britain, he managed by skillful flying of his unserviceable airplane to maintain his position in the group. When the formation was intercepted by about 30 enemy fighter airplanes before reaching the target, Capt. Pease, on the wing which bore the brunt of the hostile attack, by gallant action and the accurate shooting by his crew, succeeded in destroying several Zeros before dropping his bombs on the hostile base as planned, this in spite of continuous enemy attacks. The fight with the enemy pursuit lasted 25 minutes until the group dived into cloud cover. After leaving the target, Capt. Pease's aircraft fell behind the balance of the group due to unknown difficulties as a result of the combat, and was unable to reach this cover before the enemy pursuit succeeded in igniting 1 of his bomb bay tanks. He was seen to drop the flaming tank. It is believed that Capt. Pease's airplane and crew were subsequently shot down in flames, as they did not return to their base. In voluntarily performing this mission Capt. Pease contributed materially to the success of the group, and displayed high devotion to duty, valor, and complete contempt for personal danger. His undaunted bravery has been a great inspiration to the officers and men of his unit.
*CARTER, BRUCE W.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company H, 2d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, 7 August 1969. Entered service at: Jacksonville, Fla. Born: 7 May 1950, Schenectady, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as grenadier with Company H in connection with combat operations against the enemy. Pfc. Carter's unit was maneuvering against the enemy during Operation Idaho Canyon and came under a heavy volume of fire from a numerically superior hostile force. The lead element soon became separated from the main body of the squad by a brush fire. Pfc. Carter and his fellow marines were pinned down by vicious crossfire when, with complete disregard for his safety, he stood in full view of the North Vietnamese Army soldiers to deliver a devastating volume of fire at their positions. The accuracy and aggressiveness of his attack caused several enemy casualties and forced the remainder of the soldiers to retreat from the immediate area. Shouting directions to the marines around him, Pfc. Carter then commenced leading them from the path of the rapidly approaching brush fire when he observed a hostile grenade land between him and his companions. Fully aware of the probable consequences of his action but determined to protect the men following him, he unhesitatingly threw himself over the grenade, absorbing the full effects of its detonation with his body. Pfc. Carter's indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country .
*HAGEN, LOREN D.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Infantry, U.S. Army Training Advisory Group. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 7 August 1971. Entered service at: Fargo, N. Dak. Born: 25 February 1946, Fargo, N. Dak. Citation: 1st Lt. Hagen distinguished himself in action while serving as the team leader of a small reconnaissance team operating deep within enemy-held territory. At approximately 0630 hours on the morning of 7 August 1971 the small team came under a fierce assault by a superior-sized enemy force using heavy small arms, automatic weapons, mortar, and rocket fire. 1st Lt. Hagen immediately began returning small-arms fire upon the attackers and successfully led this team in repelling the first enemy onslaught. He then quickly deployed his men into more strategic defense locations before the enemy struck again in an attempt to overrun and annihilate the beleaguered team's members. 1st Lt. Hagen repeatedly exposed himself to- the enemy fire directed at him as he constantly moved about the team's perimeter, directing fire, rallying the members, and resupplying the team with ammunition, while courageously returning small arms and hand grenade fire in a valorous attempt to repel the advancing enemy force. The courageous actions and expert leadership abilities of 1st Lt. Hagen were a great source of inspiration and instilled confidence in the team members. After observing an enemy rocket make a direct hit on and destroy 1 of the team's bunkers, 1st Lt. Hagen moved toward the wrecked bunker in search for team members despite the fact that the enemy force now controlled the bunker area. With total disregard for his own personal safety, he crawled through the enemy fire while returning small-arms fire upon the enemy force. Undaunted by the enemy rockets and grenades impacting all around him, 1st Lt. Hagen desperately advanced upon the destroyed bunker until he was fatally wounded by enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire. With complete disregard for his personal safety, 1st Lt. Hagen's courageous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon him and the U.S. Army.
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The Final Flight of Extortion 17
It was the deadliest helicopter crash in the history of U.S. special operations. Why did it happen?
A few minutes past 2 a.m. on August 6, 2011, at a dusty forward operating base 40 miles south of Kabul, Afghanistan, the rotors of two U.S. Army CH-47D Chinooks began to turn. Operating with no lights save for the faint green glow of night vision goggles and cockpit instrument panels, the two helicopters, call signs Extortion 17 ("one-seven") and Extortion 16, lifted into the darkness and accelerated toward a destination less than 20 miles west.
Extortion 17 and its 38 occupants would not return. A Taliban fighter shot the helicopter out of the sky with a rocket-propelled grenade and all aboard were killed—the single greatest loss of American life in the Afghan war. Those killed ranked among the world's most highly trained and experienced commandos, including 15 men from Gold Squadron of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, popularly called SEAL Team 6. Just three months earlier, members of a counterpart SEAL Team 6 squadron successfully raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden. In light of that raid's success, the shootdown of Extortion 17 incited a flurry of conspiracy theories: The Taliban were tipped off; it was a trap; it was retribution for the killing. No evidence has emerged to support any of these claims. Instead, two rigorous U. S. military investigations followed every moment of the mission to determine what went wrong on Extortion 17's final flight.
So we do not forget the worst day for the Seals
Extortion 17
August 6, 2023 marks 12 years since Extortion 17. On this day 12 years ago, 30 American military servicemen and a U.S. military dog were killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter–call sign Extortion 17–was shot down in Afghanistan.
This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since the Afghan War started in 2001. The Museum Executive Team worked with these men. We continue our work at the Museum so that their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Please take a moment and pause to honor and remember these heroes.
The following sailors assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit were killed:
•.. Lieutenant Commander (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana
•.. Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, California
•.. Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Arkansas
•.. Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Connecticut
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minnesota
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Massachusetts
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Missouri
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas
•.. Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, West Virginia
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana
•.. Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Michigan
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, California
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, North Carolina
•.. Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah
•.. Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Nebraska
•.. Cryptologist Technician(Collection)Petty Officer 1st Class(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Florida
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah
The following sailors assigned to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit were killed:
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, California
•.. Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL)Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minnesota
The soldiers killed were:
•.. Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Aurora, Colorado
•.. Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment(General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas
•.. Staff Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Grand Island, Nebraska
* Sergeant Hamburger was posthumously promoted to Staff Sergeant
•.. Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas
•.. Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas
The airmen killed were:
•.. Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Florida
•.. Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, California
•.. Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pennsylvania
All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina.
Seven Afghan National Army commandos and one Afghan civilian interpreter were also killed in the crash.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 7, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
7 August
1916: The Wright Company and the Glenn L. Martin Company merged into the Wright Martin Aircraft Corporation. (24)
1944: Carrier Division 11, with carriers Saratoga and Ranger, commissioned specifically for night operations. (24)
1947: Through 10 August, Capt William P. Odom broke his earlier 15 April 1947 around-the-world record. He flew the Reynolds Bombshell 19,645 miles and landed in Chicago after 73 hours 5 minutes 11 seconds to shave nearly 5 hours off his previous record. (9) (24)
1950: KOREAN WAR. The 98 BG flew its first mission shortly after 20 of its B-29s landed at Yokota AB. (28)
1951: A Navy Viking rocket built by the Glenn L. Martin Company set an altitude record for singlestage rockets, climbing 135 miles and reaching a speed of 4,100 MPH, at White Sands. (24) Bill Bridgeman flew the Navy's Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket to a 1,238-MPH speed record. (9)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Through 8 August, Capt Clifford D. Jolley, 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, destroyed three additional MiGs in two days to become the eighteenth ace of the war. (28)
1954: The School of Aviation Medicine had received the first piece of experimental equipment ever built to study living conditions in space. It was a sealed cabin that simulated the interior of a spaceship. (16) (24)
1956: The first F-100Cs with an inflight refueling capability became operational at Foster AFB, Tex.
1959: Two F-100F aircraft made the first flight by jet fighter aircraft over the North Pole. (16) (24) The Explorer VI, NASA's "paddlewheel" satellite, launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral by a Thor-Able III. It transmitted the first television pictures from space. In addition, Maj Robert C. Mathis used the satellite to relay the first intercontinental voice message. He later became the VCSAF. (20) (21)
1963: Benjamin Greene set a new distance record for single-place gliders for a 457.97-mile flight from Marfa, Tex., to Boise City, Okl.
1965: First Minuteman II missile emplaced in a 447 SMS silo at Grand Forks AFB. (6) (12)
1975: Two C-141s flew from Ramstein AB to Bucharest with disaster relief supplies after extensive flooding of the Danube River and its tributaries. (16) (26)
1976: The Viking 2 spacecraft entered orbit around Mars. (8: Sep 90) 1980: HURRICANE ALLEN. Through 12 August, 3 MAC missions (1 C-5 and 2 C-141s) and one ANG C-130 mission airlifted 107 people and 61 tons of supplies to Haiti and St Lucia from the US and Howard AFB. The hurricane killed 57 and left hundreds homeless. (18)
1982: At Sheppard AFB, ATC ended the German Air Force undergraduate pilot training program. (16)
1984: The HH-60D helicopter flew its first rescue mission to save a young couple that had been stranded above 10,000 feet in the high Sierras overnight. (3) Operation INTENSE LOOK. Through 2 October, MAC supported the deployment of US minesweeping assets to the Red Sea to help Egypt and Saudi Arabia determine the cause of mysterious explosions that damaged ships plying the Red Sea. MAC flew 27 C-5, 14 C-141, and 3 C-130 sorties to move 983 passengers and 1,324 tons of cargo. (18)
1990: Operation DESERT SHIELD. As a response to Iraq's 2 August invasion of Kuwait, the US military initiated deployment actions to protect Saudi Arabia from Iraqi aggression and to liberate Kuwait. The 71 TFS deployed 24 F-15C Eagles on a 15-hour, 8,000-mile, non-stop flight from Langley AFB to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, with 12 inflight refuelings. (16) (26)
1995: A B-52H bomber from the 2 BW at Barksdale AFB employed precision-guided munitions in a training mission for the first time. (16)
1998: Scaled Composite's D-2 technology demonstrator UAV made its first flight after a two-year hiatus. The twin-tail propeller D-2 was a testbed vehicle for NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. (3)
2003: In an Automatic Air Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) test, as two AFFTC F-16s repeatedly approached each other in flight. The Auto ACAS activated every time to separate them without pilot input. (3)
2007: The 75th Fighter Squadron Commander, Lt Col Sam Milam, flew the first A-10C Thunderbolt II to its new home at Moody AFB, Ga. It was the first of 50 upgraded A-10Cs to move to Moody under base realignment plans. The base finished the move in early 2008 as the A-10s were converted from A-10A to A-10C models. (AFNEWS, "First Improved Thunderbolt Arrives at Moody," 8 Aug 2007.)
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