To All,
Good Saturday Morning August 10. I hope that you all have a great weekend. Early this morning my oldest granddaughter and her mother left to drive her to college in Montana. I will miss her a lot.
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 10
1812 The frigate USS Constitution captures and burns the brig, HMS Lady Warren, off Cape Race, off Labrador, Canada.
1831 The U.S. flag gains the nickname of Old Glory from William Driver, master of the brig USS Charles Daggert.
1916 The first naval aircraft production contract begins when the Bureau of Construction and Repair contacts Glenn H. Curtiss via telegram asking him to supply 30 school hydro aeroplanes. The N-9s become the Navy's most popular training aircraft during World War I.
1921 The Bureau of Aeronautics is established by General Order. Medal of Honor recipient, Rear Adm. William Moffett is the first Bureau Chief.
1942 Off Kavieng, New Ireland, USS S-44 (SS 155) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese cruiser, Kako, as she retires from the Battle of Savo Island.
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This Day in World History
August 10
0955 Otto organizes his nobles and defeats the invading Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in Germany.
1539 King Francis of France declares that all official documents are to be written in French, not Latin.
1557 French troops are defeated by Emmanuel Philibert's Spanish army at St. Quentin, France.
1582 Russia ends its 25-year war with Poland.
1628 The Swedish warship Vasa capsizes and sinks in Stockholm harbor on her maiden voyage.
1779 Louis XVI of France frees the last remaining serfs on royal land.
1831 William Driver of Salem, Massachusetts, is the first to use the term "Old Glory" in connection with the American flag, when he gives that name to a large flag aboard his ship, the Charles Daggett.
1846 The Smithsonian Institution is established in Washington through the bequest of James Smithson.
1864 Confederate Commander John Bell Hood sends his cavalry north of Atlanta to cut off Union General William Sherman's supply lines.
1911 The House of Lords in Great Britain gives up its veto power, making the House of Commons the more powerful House.
1913 The Treaty of Bucharest ends the Second Balkan War.
1941 Great Britain and the Soviet Union promise aid to Turkey if it is attacked by the Axis Powers.
1949 National Military Establishment renamed Department of Defense.
1950 President Harry S. Truman calls the National Guard to active duty to fight in the Korean War.
1954 The groundbreaking ceremony for the St. Lawrence Seaway is held at Massena, New York.
1954 English jockey Sir Gordon Richards retires with a world-record total of 4,870 victories, later broken by Johnny Longden of the United States. Richards was the first jockey ever to be knighted.
1960 NASA launches Discoverer 13 satellite; it would become the first object ever recovered from orbit.
1970 Rocker Jim Morrison tried in Miami on "lewd & lascivious behavior." Although convicted and sentenced to jail, he was free on bond while his case was being appealed when he dies in Paris, July 3, 1971.
1975 David Frost purchases the exclusive rights to interview Richard Nixon.
1977 US and Panama sign Panama Canal Zone accord, guaranteeing Panama would have control of the canal after 1999.
1997 The last British troops leave Hong Kong. After 156 years of British rule, the island is returned to China.
2003 For the first time ever, temperatures exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit when thermometers hit 101.3 F (38.5 Celsius) at Kent.
2006 All toiletries are banned from commercial airplanes after Scotland Yard disrupts a major terrorist plot involving liquid explosives. After a few weeks, the toiletries ban was modified.
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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 10 August
10-Sep: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1344
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 History Facts
Thomas Edison wanted the Statue of Liberty to talk.
Thomas Edison revolutionized the audio world in 1878 when he obtained a patent for his latest invention, the phonograph. The audio player was designed for at-home use, but Edison also had larger-than-life plans for the product, in a very literal sense: He aspired to install a massive phonograph inside the Statue of Liberty to make Lady Liberty capable of speech. Edison revealed his intent to design a "monster disc" to produce audible messages, to make it sound as if the statue were uttering the words herself. He informed reporters that the phonograph could not only be used to alert ships during heavy fog, but also, if amplified properly, create a loud enough sound to produce words that could be heard as far as northern Manhattan and across New York Harbor. Despite Edison's optimistic and ambitious ideas, the project never came to fruition, and the statue remained silent.
While Edison failed in making Lady Liberty talk, he succeeded on a much smaller scale by creating the first talking doll toy. In April 1890, Edison's factory produced a set of 22-inch-tall dolls with miniature phonographs embedded in the torso. Some 500 were sold. Unfortunately, the dolls were returned in droves, as their fragile voice boxes were easily destroyed upon being played with. What's more, the dolls sang songs such as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," but the sound was eerie and distorted due to the rudimentary phonographic technology. The toy was a massive flop for Edison, though it inspired future generations of successful talking dolls.
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Thanks to Shadow and Black
Skip,
I finally got Jim "Black" Lucas to write about the barstool and case of Primo. As you know, Jim was the Black in Black Shadow Aviation… spent some of the best years of my life with Jim as my running mate at BSA. Jim is a great but reluctant writer. Been after him for years to open up. Now that we've broken the ice, maybe we can get him to write more… trust me, he's one of a kind! And if he'll do it, I'd love for him to write about his and Tom "Trees" Morgenfeld's appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Trees and Black were selected to fly the YF-17 and were called to testify about it. Hint… Black had a hilarious interchange during the Q&A… with Senator Gary Hart… a classic case of "What we have here is a failure to communicate". A Politician's failure to understand blunt Marine speak. LMAO! Wish I could have been there for that.
Shadow
From: James L Lucas <j.l.l.43@icloud.com>
Skip,
Am writing this at the request Roy Stafford (Shadow) who was always amused when I recalled the story - hence thought I should share this with some on your list, in particular those who remember the MCAS Kaneohe Bay Officers' Club in the late 60's - 80's.
THE Barstool and a case of Primo
In the spring of 1968, after a tour at Danang, I joined VMF-212 (with F-8 Bravos) at MCAS Kaneohe Bay on the windward side of Oahu. At the time there was but one fighter squadron at the base.
A couple of months later we started transferring our Crusaders in preparation for the transition to F-4's. Larry Adkinson & I flew 212's last two F-8's to NAS Barbers Pt on May 2nd. Shortly after, the the Navy transferred them out.
A small group of us (pilots) then went to NAS Miramar for a short NAMO (sp?) course, after which we returned to K-Bay. By early June the squadron had joined several F-4 pilots & RIO's returning from WestPac tours. Other than those of us who went to NAMO the rest of the squadron's F-8 pilots were PCS'd elsewhere. That included Adkinson, which was probably for the best since both of us had "Black" as a callsign.
We did not go through the F-4 RAG at Miramar.
In June of 68 we began transitioning to F-4J's at NAS Barbers Pt given K-Bay's single runway was closed for scheduled repairs/resurfacing. Suffice to say, several of our squadron "instructors" were bemused with our (F-8 guys) antics around the field.
As an aside, 212 was not scheduled to receive its first Phantoms until later in the year. That changed when then CG, FMFPAC "Brute" Krulak wanted F-4's for a fly by at his upcoming retirement ceremony at K-Bay.
It was held on the flight line adjacent to the old seaplane ramps, constructed when PBY Catalinas were stationed at then NAS Kaneohe.
I have no idea how it happened, but there I stood in front of the throng of probably 2000 guests at the COC with microphone in hand emceeing the whole shitteree, no doubt thinking WTFO the entire time.
The squadron had been re-designated as VMFA-212 by then, which then gave us the green light to bomb pesky goats on the island of Kahoolawe, birds on Ka'ula Rock south-southeast of Niihau, and cockroaches at the National Guard's Pahakuloa Training Area near Mauna Loa on the Big Island.
VMFA-235 came aboard in September of 68, also transitioning from F-8's. Two years later in September, 1970, VMFA122 became the third Phantom squadron at K-Bay. It was one exciting and happening place.
During this time Navy Chief Hospital Corpsman Lou Legarie then stationed at K-Bay, commenced running the Officer's Club while still on active duty. He continued running the club well into retirement from the avy for over 20 years.
If one drove by the hospital at 0800 you could not miss Lou's sailors in formation as he inspected them like a Marine Drill Instructor would.
You WILL be impressed reading Lou's biography and obituary (links at bottom).
That K-Bay tour for me lasted 3 1/2 years, all in 212, through five CO's.
Today, it seems surreal: a 24 year-old bachelor driving a new Jaguar XKE roadster, living at a "Snake Ranch" at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains across the bay, racing about in a motorcycle and flying the best the Marine Corps had at one of the best air stations in the Corps.
Of course, I did throttle back a bit after marrying one of Lou's bartenders in 1970 … no more 140 mph jaunts on the Kahekili Hwy past the Valley of the Temples.
I did see Lou a couple of times in 1976 and 1977 while head of the MAWTUPAC's F-4 Branch while on K-Bay dets to ACT(I) certify F-4 crews.
The last time I saw Lou was in March of 1984 when, as CO of VMFA-531 we flew four F/A-18's armed with live Sidewinders and Sparrows from MCAS EL Toro to K-Bay by way of the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) Barking Sands.
We utilized a USAF KC-10 tanker crossing the "pond" and a Marine KC-130 loitering in the Barking Sands Restricted area to top us off while waiting for target drones to be launched.
Sidewinders and Sparrows were successfully launched using scenarios coordinated with VX-4; not just straight & level canned launches.
We landed at K-Bay and logged 8.6 hours since takeoff at El Toro.
It was the first F/A-18 Hornet TransPac as well as the most flight time logged for F/A-18 single sorties at that time.
Finally we're at THE Barstool and case of Primo segment -
After we landed at K-Bay the O'Club was our (well, at least my) first stop. While on my first beer someone tapped me on the shoulder & said "Lou Legarie wants to see you in his office downstairs."
So I obliged. While the two of us were exchanging pleasantries, one of his assistants entered the room dragging an old worn bar stool and case of Primo beer.
Lou gleefully exclaimed, "I knew you would be back one of these days. I saved the exact seat you always sat in at the bar when we remodeled the club a few years ago and a case of Primo they no longer make."
That meant more to me than winning the lottery!
We remained at K-Bay for another week or so flying dissimilar air-to-air vs two F-4 squadrons. It was a great experience for all of us, including our six nuggets.
The bar stool and case of Primo arrived safely at MCAS El Toro in our pack up.
If you ever have the opportunity to visit now MCB Kaneohe, check out the O'Club which has a room dedicated to him. Lift a glass to a Sailor man who spent 19 of his 20 years in the Navy with Marines!
Sadly, Lou passed away on September 10, 2020 at the age of 95. He is buried at the Miramar National Cemetery.
His biography and obituary are quite something!
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/385883/his-marines-called-him-gunny
https://obituaries.stripes.com/obituary/mr-warren-lou-g-legarie
Sadly, the bar stool and case of Primo were lost in a divorce :-(
Black
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From the Archives and still true only more so
Thanks to Mugs
Subject: TOMORROW HAS ARRIVED
Lest We Forget;
Most Already Have!
SHAME, SHAME!!
SUBJECT: TOMORROW HAS ARRIVED
HISTORY......tells us many things.... who'll remember it in 10 years, if it's not taught at home (forget the school system) ??
Now it is clear why the media hardly relays this.
Maybe this will explain why General Eisenhower warned us.
It is a matter of history that when the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead.
He did this because he said in words to this effect: 'Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses - because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened.
This week, the UK debated whether to remove The Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offends' the Muslim population which claims it never occurred. It is not removed as yet. However, this is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is giving into it.
It is now more than 70 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians, and 1,900 Catholic priests who were 'murdered, raped, burned, starved, beaten, experimented on and humiliated' while many in the world looked the other way!
Now, more than ever, with Iran, among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets.
This e-mail is intended to reach 400 million people! Be a link in the memorial chain and help distribute this around the world.
How many years will it be before the attack on the World Trade Center 'NEVER HAPPENED', because it offends some Muslims?
Do not just delete this message; it will take only a minute to pass this along.
Remember when all classrooms had an American flag in them?
Do they even teach our children about the World Trade Center attacks in 1993 and 2001, or did it go the way of Pearl Harbor and Veterans Day?
Don't even mention Christmas or Hanukkah or prayers in school. Many schools no longer recite the Pledge of Allegiance and many children do not know the words to our National Anthem, or that we even have one!
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Marie Antoinette never said, "Let them eat cake."
Marie Antoinette's most famous line has echoed for more than 200 years, reportedly adding fuel to the fire of France's revolution. The only problem is the French queen's supposed declaration is a myth — historians don't think Marie Antoinette ever said, "Let them eat cake," after being told her subjects had no bread. Researchers point to two main plot holes in the quote's supposed backstory, the first being its phrasing in English. In fact, the French queen is supposed to have said, "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche," or "Let them eat brioche," a reference to a decadent bread made with eggs and butter.
The second problem is that the outline of the tale predates Marie Antoinette's reign. At least one similar story cropped up around the 16th century in Germany, wherein a noblewoman suggested the poorest citizens in her kingdom eat sweetened bread. However, the first person to print the line about brioche was likely Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a French philosopher who mentioned the story around 1767 in his book Confessions, attributing the comment to a "great princess." Rousseau's text was published when Marie Antoinette was still a child in Austria, though it's possible the story inspired French revolutionaries decades later, and was repeated with the addition of Marie Antoinette's name as propaganda against the French monarchy. Yet there is no historical evidence (aka printed materials) that proves the queen ever uttered the phrase.
While Marie Antoinette was known for her excessive spending, some historians say the centuries-long smear to her reputation has long overshadowed her philanthropic side. As queen, she established a home for unwed mothers, personally adopted and cared for orphans, and even sold the royal flatware in 1787 to cover the cost of grain for impoverished families — all activities befitting a benevolent ruler who just so happened to love shopping.
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From the Archives thanks to Boris
Skip,
Thanks for the recent add from my series 1942; The Year of the Carrier related to Guadalcanal and the beginning of Close Air Support. CAS was a tough mission to accomplish in those days due to mostly lack of communications capability and the endless "mother-may-I" loops you had to go through.
In that regard, a couple of things:
• I became a reader on the Battle of Midway as a teenager after reading Walter Lord's book Incredible Victory and have continued that pursuit now over 50 years. May have noted before that when I was stashed at Mugu after getting my wings in Sept 69 my boss was a LCDR/past enlisted aviator/past radioman-gunner in Bombing Six and on that first strike against the Japanese carriers and the NMC commander, Adm Lewis Hopkins had been an Ensign flying Dauntless #13 in VB-6 also. I've told that story on the site so won't repeat here. That interest was a big factor in starting the 1942 series but…
• While I consider myself well read on Midway, was surprised at how low my knowledge level was on the Guadalcanal campaign. My original intent was a handful of posts on the four carrier battles – Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons , and Santa Cruz Islands. Once I started research/reading on the last two battles, I realized how much I didn't know about how tightly interwoven the land, sea, air aspects were nor how the air piece of land/sea was so intertwined. Indeed I probably separated Cactus as land and CV ops as sea to the extent that I was missing an awful lot. Anyway the series went from 5-6 posts to 30.
• Along the way also found information on a long distance relative William Morris Beakley who was the CAG on Wasp and directed all the air support on the first day over Tulagi. He was a former Wildcat CO and went on to command our USS Midway and eventually Seventh Fleet. I knew about him from my Dad, but had very little detail. This post from the series discusses him at the end: http://rememberedsky.com/?p=2283
• Of all the stuff I've posted on rememberedsky since 2012, the 42 series received by far the most readers and comments including recommendations to turn it into a book. I have consolidated the posts into a word document, but there's a lot of difference in computer/internet posts and a book. Biggest problem is all the pictures I used and properly noting references/bookmarks. I "borrowed" a lot from really legit writers and historians and tried religiously to give credit but did not document like a history book.
• Have looked into self-publishing a bit but don't know if I can pull this off. Thought now is self-publish with print on demand. A publisher told me I can probably get by with small numbers without big documentation "mother-may I's" which would just be a killer.
• Final two points (sorry for the length here… I'm sending similar type e-mail to a few folks like Barrett Tillman for thoughts)
o For me the CV ops of 42 are the real core of carrier aviation: 1) incorporation of the 20s and 30s battle problems lessons learned, 2) reasonable warfighting capability (Wildcat, Dauntless) and 3) operations to hold-the line until 43 and the Essex class CVs, 4) development of technology and operations that made CV aviation what it became by 44/45; and the basis for everything Naval Aviation does today
o With China's efforts and threat of war in South China Sea, worth revisiting the whole island chain philosophy. Indeed I have multiple articles indicating China is studying that subject in depth.
Closing, I know you have plenty of ammo for the List, but one focus point for the rest of the year could be a piece here or there on Guadalcanal and how those ops have influenced carrier aviation. I know Adm Cox has pieces and all of my stuff is yours for the taking.
Just a thought and very open to any thoughts.
Fly Navy, THE BEST ALWAYS HAVE
Boris
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This Day in History
On August 10, 1977, police arrest 24-year-old postal employee David Berkowitz and charged him with being the "Son of Sam," the serial killer who terrorized New York City for more than a year, killing six young people and wounding seven others with a .44-caliber revolver. Because Berkowitz generally targeted attractive young women with long brown hair, hundreds of young women had their hair cut short and dyed blonde during the time he terrorized the city. Thousands more simply stayed home at night.
After his arrest, Berkowitz claimed that demons and a black Labrador retriever owned by a neighbor named Sam had ordered him to commit the killings.
David Berkowitz was brought up by adoptive parents in the Bronx. He was traumatized by the death of his adoptive mother from cancer in 1967 and thereafter became more and more of a loner. In 1971, he joined the army and served for three years, where he distinguished himself as a talented marksman. In 1974, he returned to New York and worked as a security guard. His mental condition began to severely deteriorate in 1975 (he would later be diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic).
On August 10, 1977, police arrest 24-year-old postal employee David Berkowitz and charged him with being the "Son of Sam," the serial killer who terrorized New York City for more than a year, killing six young people and wounding seven others with a .44-caliber revolver. Because Berkowitz generally targeted attractive young women with long brown hair, hundreds of young women had their hair cut short and dyed blonde during the time he terrorized the city. Thousands more simply stayed home at night.
After his arrest, Berkowitz claimed that demons and a black Labrador retriever owned by a neighbor named Sam had ordered him to commit the killings.
David Berkowitz was brought up by adoptive parents in the Bronx. He was traumatized by the death of his adoptive mother from cancer in 1967 and thereafter became more and more of a loner. In 1971, he joined the army and served for three years, where he distinguished himself as a talented marksman. In 1974, he returned to New York and worked as a security guard. His mental condition began to severely deteriorate in 1975 (he would later be diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic).
Feeling isolated from the world around him, he became an arsonist and set hundreds of fires in New York City without being arrested. He began to hear voices of "demons" that tormented him and told him to commit murder. On Christmas Eve, 1975, he gave into these internal voices and severely wounded 15-year-old Michelle Forman with a hunting knife.
In January 1976, he moved into a two-family home in Yonkers, a suburb of New York. Berkowitz became convinced that the German shepherd that lived in the house and other neighborhood dogs were possessed by demons who ordered him to murder attractive young women. One of the neighborhood dogs was shot during this time, probably by Berkowitz. He also began to see his neighbors as demons.
In April, Berkowitz moved to an apartment house in Yonkers, but his new home also had dogs. His neighbor, retiree Sam Carr, had a black Labrador retriever named Harvey, who Berkowitz believed pleaded with him to kill. He also saw Sam Carr as a powerful demon and was referring to him when he later called himself "Son of Sam."
On July 28, 1976, Berkowitz quit his job as a security guard. Early the next morning, he walked up to a parked car in the Bronx where two young women were talking and fired five bullets from his.44 revolver into the vehicle. Eighteen-year-old Donna Lauria was killed instantly, and her friend Jody Valenti was wounded. Police could find no motives or leads in the shooting.
In the early morning of October 24, Berkowitz struck again, critically wounding 20-year-old Carl Denaro as he sat in a car and talked with a female friend in Queens. A little more than a month later, on November 26, 16-year-old Donna DeMasi and 18-year-old Joanne Lomino were shot and seriously wounded in the street on their way home from a movie. On January 30, 1977, Berkowitz fatally shot Christine Freund as she sat in a car in Queens with her fiancee. Police began to suspect that these crimes were perpetrated by a single killer, but few bullets were found intact to confirm the assumption.
On March 8, 19-year-old college student Virginia Voskerichian was shot to death as she walked home in Manhattan. A bullet was found intact, and it matched a bullet found at the scene of Berkowitz's first murder. The New York police announced that a serial killer was on the loose, known to be a white male in his 20s, with black hair and of average height and build.
A large group of detectives was organized–the "Omega" task force–to track the killer down. On April 17, 18-year-old Valentina Suriani and 20-year-old Alexander Esau were shot and killed by the same gun as they kissed in their parked car near the Hutchinson River Parkway. This time, the .44-caliber killer left a note in which he referred to himself as the Son of Sam.
On April 29, Berkowitz shot Sam Carr's Labrador retriever. He had previously sent an anonymous, threatening letter to Mr. Carr concerning the animal. The dog recovered, and the Yonkers police began an investigation. Meanwhile, Berkowitz began sending bizarre letters to other neighbors and his former landlords. These individuals began to suspect Berkowitz to be the Son of Sam and reported their suspicions to local police. The Omega task force was subsequently notified, but the detectives had received thousands of reports of Son of Sam "suspects" and were having a difficult time sifting through all the dead-end leads.
On June 26, the Son of Sam struck again, wounding Judy Placido and Sal Lupo as they sat in their car after leaving a Queens disco. Public concern over the rampaging serial killer grew to panic proportions, and New York nightclubs and restaurants saw a dramatic drop in business. A blistering heat wave and a 25-hour blackout in mid-July only increased the tension. On July 31, just two days after the anniversary of his first killing, Berkowitz shot a young couple kissing in a parked car in Brooklyn. Twenty-year-old Stacy Moskowitz was fatally wounded, and her boyfriend, Bobby Violante, lost his left eye and nearly all the vision in his right eye.
A few days later, a major break in the case came when an eyewitness came forward to report that she had seen a man with what looked like a gun minutes before the shots were fired in Brooklyn. Her information led to the first police sketch of Berkowitz. More important, she reminded investigators that two police officers had been writing parking tickets on her street that night. A search of tickets issued eventually turned up Berkowitz's car.
At the same time, Yonkers police investigated Berkowitz after he escalated a harassment campaign against one of his neighbors. Convinced he was the Son of Sam, they informed the Omega task force of their findings. The Omega detectives finally put two and two together, and on August 10 David Berkowitz was arrested while leaving his Yonkers home. He gleefully admitted to being the Son of Sam. On his person was a semiautomatic rifle, and he explained he was on his way to commit another murder. The .44-caliber revolver was also recovered.
There was some question about whether Berkowitz was mentally fit to stand trial, but on May 8, 1978, he withdrew an insanity defense and pleaded guilty to the six murders. Berkowitz, in fact, appeared to enjoy the media attention his case was receiving and he proceeded to sell his exclusive story rights to a publishing house. That prompted New York state to adopt the first in a nationwide series of so-called "Son of Sam laws" that take proceeds a criminal earns from selling their story and gives them to a victims' compensation fund.
Berkowitz was given six 25-years-to-life sentences for the crime, the maximum penalty allowed at the time. He has since been denied parole. He is currently held at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility in upstate New York, where he allegedly converted to Christianity.
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This Day in U S Military History…….10 August
1680 – The Pueblo Revolt, an uprising of most of the Pueblo Indians against the Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, present day New Mexico, begins. The Pueblo killed 400 Spanish and drove the remaining 2,000 settlers out of the province. Twelve years later the Spanish returned and were able to reoccupy New Mexico with little opposition.
1942 – An American submarine sinks the Japanese heavy cruiser Kako while it was returning to Rabual after the battle at Savo Island.
1943 – Another Allied amphibious operation is carried out on the north coast. Forces land at Brolo, east of Cape Orlando. The Germans again fall back.
1944 – On Guam, American forces have secured the island. Insignificant groups of Japanese continue their resistance. American casualties amount to 7000, including 1300 killed. Only 100 Japanese prisoners have been taken, out of a garrison estimated at over 10,000 men.
1944 – US 3rd Army continues attacking. The US 8th Corps, in Brittany, has cleared St. Malo and Dinard of their German garrisons. The US 20th Corps captures Nantes and reaches the Loire River near Nantes. The US 15th Corps advances toward Alencon from Le Mans. German forces around Mortain pull back because of pressure from US 1st Army and the growing threat of encirclement from the converging Canadian and American armies.
1945 – US and British battleships bombard the city of Kimaishi, cocentrating on the steel mills.
1945 – US aircraft strike strategic targets on Honshu. In an effort to destroy Japanese aircraft moved to northern Honshu Island, US and British carrier aircraft attack airfields in continuous waves. A total of 34 Allied aircraft are lost, while 397 Japanese aircraft are claimed destroyed and 320 damaged
1945 – Just a day after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan submits its acquiescence to the Potsdam Conference terms of unconditional surrender, as President Harry S. Truman orders a halt to atomic bombing. Emperor Hirohito, having remained aloof from the daily decisions of prosecuting the war, rubber-stamping the decisions of his War Council, including the decision to bomb Pearl Harbor, finally felt compelled to do more. At the behest of two Cabinet members, the emperor summoned and presided over a special meeting of the Council and implored them to consider accepting the terms of the Potsdam Conference, which meant unconditional surrender. "It seems obvious that the nation is no longer able to wage war, and its ability to defend its own shores is doubtful." The Council had been split over the surrender terms; half the members wanted assurances that the emperor would maintain his hereditary and traditional role in a postwar Japan before surrender could be considered. But in light of the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, Nagasaki on August 9, and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, as well as the emperor's own request that the Council "bear the unbearable," it was agreed: Japan would surrender. Tokyo released a message to its ambassadors in Switzerland and Sweden, which was then passed on to the Allies. The message formally accepted the Potsdam Declaration but included the proviso that "said Declaration does not comprise any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as sovereign ruler." When the message reached Washington, President Truman, unwilling to inflict any more suffering on the Japanese people, especially on "all those kids," ordered a halt to atomic bombing, He also wanted to know whether the stipulation regarding "His Majesty" was a deal breaker. Negotiations between Washington and Tokyo ensued. Meanwhile, savage fighting continued between Japan and the Soviet Union in Manchuria.
1950 – The first Marine Corps helicopter rescue of a downed pilot was successfully made by VMO-6.
1966 – Troops of the First Battalion, Fifth Marines fight a bitter battle against NVA forces in Quang Tin province, 60 miles west of Tam Ky. In Thailand, a U.S.-built air base is opened in Sattahib. Ultimately, there would be five major airbases and over 49,000 U.S. military personnel in Thailand. The bases would be turned over to the Thais and the U.S. troops withdrawn in 1973.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BOQUET, NICHOLAS
Rank and organization: Private, Company D, 1st lowa Infantry. Place and date: At Wilsons Creek, Mo., 10 August 1861. Entered service at: Burlington, lowa. Born: 14 November 1842, Germany. Date of issue: 16 February 1897. Citation: Voluntarily left the line of battle, and, exposing himself to imminent danger from a heavy fire of the enemy, assisted in capturing a riderless horse at large between the lines and hitching him to a disabled gun, saved the gun from capture.
IMMELL, LORENZO D.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company F, 2d U.S. Artillery. Place and date: At Wilsons Creek, Mo., 10 August 1861. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Ross, Ohio. Date of issue: 19 July 1890. Citation: Bravery in action.
SCHOFIELD, JOHN M.
Rank and organization: Major, 1st Missouri Infantry. Place and date: At Wilsons Creek, Mo., 10 August 1861. Entered service at: St. Louis, Mo. Born: 29 September 1831, Gerry, N.Y. Date of issue: 2 July 1892. Citation: Was conspicuously gallant in leading a regiment in a successful charge against the enemy.
WHERRY, WILLIAM M.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, Company D, 3d U.S. Reserve Missouri Infantry. Place and date: At Wilsons Creek, Mo., 10 August 1861. Entered service at: St. Louis, Mo. Born: 13 September 1836, St. Louis, Mo. Date of issue: 30 October 1895. Citation: Displayed conspicuous coolness and heroism in rallying troops that were recoiling under heavy fire.
WOOD, H. CLAY
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 11th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Wilsons Creek, Mo., 10 August 1861. Entered service at: Winthrop, Maine. Birth: Winthrop, Maine. Date of issue: 28 October 1893. Citation: Distinguished gallantry.
*MESTROVITCH, JAMES 1.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 111th Infantry, 28th Division. Place and date: At Fismette, France, 10 August 1918. Entered service at: Pittsburgh, Pa. Birth: Montenegro. G.O. No.: 20, W.D., 1919. Citation: Seeing his company commander Iying wounded 30 yards in front of the line after his company had withdrawn to a sheltered position behind a stone wall, Sgt. Mestrovitch voluntarily left cover and crawled through heavy machinegun and shell fire to where the officer lay. He took the officer upon his back and crawled to a place of safety, where he administered first-aid treatment, his exceptional heroism saving the officer's life.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for 10 August, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
10 August
1912: Through 17 August at Bridgeport, Lts Thomas DeWitt Milling and Benjamin D. Foulois flew Signal Corps planes in Army maneuvers for the first time. (4) (24)
1914: Tony Jannus, a hydroairplane pilot of St. Petersburg-Tampa Airline, received the first government license issued in America for aircraft. (24)
1938: First Berlin to New York nonstop flight by a B-18 took 24 hours 54 minutes.
1950: KOREAN WAR. President Truman mobilized the first two AFRES units, the 437 TCW and the 452 BW, for Korean War service. The 22 BG, 92 BG, and 98 BG dispatched 46 B-29s to bomb an oil refinery and railroad shops at Wonsan, N. Korea. (21) (28)
1958: Seven F-101 Voodoo jets set a 5,933-mile distance record for formation flying by completing a flight from Austin, Tex., to Brentwood, England. (24)
1960: At Cape Canaveral, the first operationally configured Titan I launched successfully. (6)
1961: An F-105 lifted the largest load ever carried aloft by a single-engine aircraft in dropping over seven tons of conventional bombs on a target. (24)
1962: The DoD revealed that Lockheed's VZ-10 Hummingbird turbojet vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft built for the Army had completed its first flight. (24)
1965: Bell Aerosystems began the first scheduled hovercraft service in the US between Oakland and San Francisco. 1966: Lunar Orbiter I launched from Cape Kennedy, and 92 hours later it entered a lunar orbit to take photos of possible Apollo landing sites.
1967: Maj Bernard F. Fisher received the Cheney Award, given annually for an outstanding act of valor. He rescued a fellow pilot in Vietnam while under enemy fire. (See 10 March 1966) (16)
1968: The 375 AAW at Scott AFB received the first McDonnell-Douglas C-9A Nightingale. It was the first military aeromedical evacuation aircraft to be jet powered. (18)
1976: Boeing's YC-14 flew its maiden flight around Seattle. The Boeing YC-14 is a twin-engine, short take-off and landing (STOL), tactical military transport aircraft. It was Boeing's entrant into the USAF's Advanced Medium STOL Transport (AMST) competition, which aimed to replace the Lockheed C-130 Hercules as the USAF's standard STOL tactical transport. Although both the YC-14 and the competing McDonnell Douglas YC-15 were successful, neither aircraft entered production. The AMST project ended in 1979 replaced by the C-X program.
1979: Through 17 August, MAC flew 31 C-141 missions from Lubumhashi, Zaire, to Rabat-Sale, Morocco; Dakar, Senegal; Lome, Togo; and Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to return 1,440 troops and 603.3 tons of cargo from a temporary Inter-African peacekeeping force in Zaire. (18)
1983: SECDEF Caspar W. Weinberger directed the USAF to deploy 100 Peacekeeper missiles in Minuteman Silos. (16) (26)
1988: Fighting between rebel and government forces in southern Sudan drove hundreds of thousands of people seeking food and shelter to refugee camps. At the request of the Sudanese government, the 60th and 436 MAWs flew humanitarian missions to furnish 70 tons of plastic sheeting for shelters in addition to food and other supplies. (26)
2006: NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB began flight tests on the Quiet Spike project to study the suppression of sonic booms. The tests involved NASA's F-15B fitted with a 24-foot-long retractable spike on its nose. The spike, built of composite materials, changed its length in flight to create three small shock waves traveling parallel to each other, all the way to the ground. (3)
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