To All,
Good Sunday Morning August 18. My Granddaughter and her friend have been doing a great job on the Chicken Cage remodel. Weather stays about the same. All the vehicles seem to be working. I hope that you all are having a great weekend.
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 18
1918—The first naval railway gun, a 14-inch, 50 caliber, Mark IV Navy gun mounted on a railway carriage, became operational in St. Nazaire, France during World War I. The "rail guns" operated until the end of the war.
1838—The Exploring Expedition led by Lt. Charles Wilkes embarks on a world cruise.
1908—The first Navy Nurse Corps superintendent, Esther Voorhees Hasson, is appointed. Under her leadership, 19 additional nurses are recruited and trained for naval service during 1908.
1943—USS Philadelphia (CL 41) and USS Boise (CL 47) and four destroyers shell Gioia, Taura, and Palmi on the Italian mainland.
1966—The first ship-to-shore satellite radio message is sent from USS Annapolis (AGMR 1) in the South China Sea to Pacific Fleet Headquarters at Pearl Harbor.
1995—USS Tucson (SSN 770) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk. The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine is the second to be named for the city in Arizona.
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Today in World History: August 18
1587 In the Roanoke Island colony, Ellinor and Ananias Dare become parents of a baby girl whom they name Virginia, the first English child born in what would become the United States.
1590 John White, the leader of 117 colonists sent in 1587 to Roanoke Island (North Carolina) to establish a colony, returns from a trip to England to find the settlement deserted. No trace of the settlers is ever found.
1698 After invading Denmark and capturing Sweden, Charles XII of Sweden forces Frederick IV of Denmark to sign the Peace of Travendal.
1759 The French fleet is destroyed by the British under "Old Dreadnought" Boscawen at the Battle of Lagos Bay.
1782 Poet and artist William Blake marries Catherine Sophia Boucher.
1862 Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart's headquarters is raided by Union troops of the 5th New York and 1st Michigan cavalries.
1864 Union General William T. Sherman sends General Judson Kilpatrick to raid Confederate lines of communication outside Atlanta. The raid is unsuccessful.
1870 Prussian forces defeat the French at the Battle of Gravelotte during the Franco-Prussian War.
1898 Adolph Ochs takes over the New York Times, saying his aim is to give "the news, all the news, in concise and attractive form, in language that is permissible in good society, and give it early, if not earlier, than it can be learned through any other medium."
1914 Germany declares war on Russia while President Woodrow Wilson issues his Proclamation of Neutrality.
1920 Tennessee becomes the thirty-sixth state to ratify the nineteenth amendment granting women's suffrage, completing the three-quarters necessary to put the amendment into effect.
1929 The first cross-country women's air derby begins. Louise McPhetridge Thaden wins first prize in the heavier-plane division, while Phoebe Fairgrave Omlie finishes first in the lighter-plane category.
1939 The film The Wizard of Oz opens in New York City.
1942 Japan sends a crack army to Guadalcanal to repulse the U.S. Marines fighting there.
1943 The Royal Air Force Bomber Command completes the first major strike against the German missile development facility at Peenemunde.
1963 James Meredith, the first African American to attend University of Mississippi, graduates.
1965 Operation Starlite marks the beginning of major U.S. ground combat operations in Vietnam.
1966 Australian troops repulse a Viet Cong attack at Long Tan.
1969 Two concert goers die at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, New York, one from an overdose of heroin, the other from a burst appendix.
1973 Hank Aaron makes his 1,378 extra-base hit, surpassing Stan Musial's record.
1974 Luna 24, the USSR's final major lunar exploration mission, soft-lands on moon.
1979 Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini demands a "Saint War" against Kurds.
1982 Pete Rose sets record with his 13,941st plate appearance.
1987 Ohio nurse Donald Harvey sentenced to triple life terms for poisoning 24 patients.
1988 Republican Convention in New Orleans nominate the George H.W. Bush-Dan Quayle ticket.
1991 A group of hard-line communist leaders unhappy with the drift toward the collapse of the Soviet Union seize control of the government in Moscow and place President Mikhail S. Gorbachev under house arrest
1992 Dennis Rader, the BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) killer receives 10 consecutive life sentences. He had terrorized Wichita, Kansas, murdering 10 people between 1974 and 1991.
1993 Historic Kapelbrug (chapel bridge) in Luzern, Switzerland, burns, destroying 147 of its decorative paintings. It was built in 1365.
2010 Edelmiro Cavazos, mayor of Santiago, Nuevo Leon, is found handcuffed, blindfolded and dead following his abduction three days earlier. He had championed crackdowns on organized crime and police corruption.
2011 Gold hits a record price of $1,826 per ounce.
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 12 August 2024 and ending Sunday 18 August 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of Dan Heller's world-class website rollingthunderremembered.com post for 10 August 1969… In the words of Robert McNamara in his 1995 book, "In Retrospect": "We were wrong." And he cites eleven reasons for our defeat in Vietnam.
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 17 August
17-Aug: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1899
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 Carl
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend last week and I forgot to forward. The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
A decades-long project to pair faces with the names etched on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is now complete.
With assistance from hundreds of volunteers across the nation, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) has created the Wall of Faces, a website featuring at least one photo of each of the 58,281 servicemembers who died in the Vietnam War.
"The Wall of Faces tells … stories through photos and remembrances left by both friends and family members," Jim Knotts, president and CEO of VVMF, said in a press release announcing the milestone. "We couldn't have done this without the tenacious work of a small army of volunteers across the country. Their ingenuity, commitment and dedication are tremendous."
Vietnam Veterans Memorial founder and former VVMF president Jan Scruggs wasn't initially confident VVMF could assemble and curate all the photos. A joint project with FedEx and Kinko's in 2001 resulted in thousands of new images, but there was no expectation of getting everyone's image, said VVMF Director of Outreach Tim Tetz.
Years later, VVMF began planning for an Education Center at The Wall. One of the cornerstone displays, Tetz said, would be images of fallen servicemembers featured on their birthday.
"For this reason, we needed to make a greater effort to find the photos, so in the late 2000s, our effort was revitalized to expand our collection," Tetz said. "… Even though the Education Center project was cancelled, we realized there was a use for these photos at our traveling memorial, The Wall That Heals, and in other museums, events, and forums throughout the nation."
Janna Hoehn, a Hawaii resident and volunteer, was also instrumental in the Wall of Faces' efforts. Hoehn began researching names of veterans from Hawaii more than a decade ago and helped gather photos from every resident of her home state of California. Eventually, she assembled a network of volunteers across the nation to help bring this project to fruition.
"The person who got the ball over the goal line was Janna Hoehn and her dozens of volunteers across America," Scruggs said. "… She is both charming and serious. Each volunteer was willing to work year after year. There was nothing easy about this outcome. It involved detective work and commitment."
The VVMF is asking the public to continue providing high-quality images, and stories, about those who perished during the war. Submission details are available at this link as well as on servicemembers' profile pages at the Wall of Faces, where you can find information on submitting individual remembrances. You can also contact VVMF at (202) 393-0900 or vvmf@vvmf.org.
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Thanks to Dr. Rich
Thanks to Peter via Ken ...
World Famous North Island "I" Bar History:
Bachelor Officers Quarters, Building "I", was constructed as part of the original construction of Rockwell Field. Rockwell Field was the first permanent Army airfield in the United States named in honor of an Army pilot killed in 1912. Joint tenancy by the Army and the Navy from 1913 to the mid -30s ended by presidential executive order of Franklin Roosevelt in 1939. Prior to WW I, the Army sought the talents of renowned architect, Albert Kahn, famous for his "Spanish Colonial Revival" Style, to lay-out a basic field plan and start construction. Work stopped at the end of WWI with few structures completed. The old hangars 501, 502 and 503 along Quentin Roosevelt Blvd were part of the original construction. Additionally, Flag Officer quarters T, U and V on the southwest side of the runway were part of the original WWI construction. In 1932, the firm of Meed and Requa, funded by the Emergency Rehabilitation act of 1932, picked up on Kahn's theme with their "Mission and Spanish Revival" style and started the construction of Bachelor Officer Quarters, Building "I" and the Officers' closed Mess, building 515, located on the corner of Quentin Roosevelt Blvd and East "F" Street. Part of the Officers' Quarters was an Aviators' Bar located in Building "I." The Building "I" complex included a swimming pool, tennis courts, snack bar and adjacent garages. Note: these buildings and associated infrastructure were identical to the BOQ structures on March AFB.
BOQ, Building "I" and the "I" Bar were reserved for senior officers. By the mid-'60s, it had become a general pilots hang-out of unremarkable appearance with bare plaster walls and ceilings. In 1969, the bar was refurbished in the present "Sailing Ship" motif. Much of the original squadron patches and placards remain today. From the beginning of the "I" Bar, the piano was the center of attention...Doc Eugene Moyle was a regular at the keyboard assisted ably by Butch Bucciarelli. Later, Capt C.C Smith, CO of the USS Enterprise was a hit. Captain Smith became VADM C.C. Smith, Commander Naval Air Forces Atlantic Fleet.
In 1956, the "I" Bar was the location for the founding meeting of the Tailhook Association. The Tailhook Association is a U.S. , supporting the interests of sea-based aviation The term, Tailhook refers to the hook underneath the tail of the aircraft that catches the arresting wire suspended across the flight deck in order to stop the landing plane quickly.
The Association was formed by NAS North Island (now Naval Base Coronado)based active-duty Naval Aviators , eventually growing into a national organization headquartered in San Diego, California . During the Vietnam War , the annual Tailhook reunion and symposium provided opportunities for aircrews from the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets to exchange information about events and tactics in Southeast Asia. The discussions continue today to exchange information on lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I" Bar model aircraft collection: In 1969, one of the lady patrons asked if she could display one of her son's model aircraft. This started a collection of 225 models representing 220 distinct aircraft types. This is the most complete collection of U.S. Naval aircraft models to be seen outside a major museum. With the dedication and persistent work by Capt Bob Young, USN (Ret) and CDR Brad Bradford, USN (Ret), the model aircraft collection developed into the collection it is today.
Key to the success of the "I" Bar has been its outstanding and understanding Bartenders. The first was Walter Simmons, SDS (Ret), a Pearl Harbor survivor. There have been eight bartenders since Walter. They are Jan, Villa, Sherrie, Karen, Diane, Ernie and Tess. The current bartender Debbi is the pride of Naval Aviation and the "I" Bar.
Over the years there have been a number of patrons who have help to keep the spirit of the "I" Bar going. Some are, 2E Bates, Diz Laird (WW II Fighter Ace), Bob Young, and Brad Bradford. Former Commanders of the Naval Air Forces Pacific Fleet, VADM Mike Bowman, RADM Lyle Bull and his son RADM Del Bull, RADM Scotty Walker, RADM Don Baird, Ted Sexton, Bob "Bubbles" Nordgren, "Bullet" Bob Canepa, Greg Labuda, Evan Piritz, John Boyd, Butch Bucciarelli, Doc Moyle, and hundreds of active duty and retired flag officers, Squadron Commanding Officers, and Commanding Officers of North Island home ported Aircraft Carriers, and many more have lent their support to ensure its continued popularity.
The "I" Bar at Naval Air Station North Island is an outstanding and unique national historical resource and a rich Naval historical site.
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From the archives……Sad to see it crash
Thanks to Mike
Great Video Of Mig-23 - Flight Prior To Crash Flight
Heritage flight too.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/JFVswcMVIeU
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Thanks to YP our poet Laurate
A recent email string led to a limerick challenge flung down about topics mentioned: Portland's weirdness, and hose clamps.
Piece of Pecan Pie:
YP
On Jul 25, 2023, at 12:54 PM, Stephanie wrote:
There was once a woman from Portland…
On 25 Jul 2023, at 6:39 pm, John Tillman wrote:
The first ad shows the universal hose clamp binding hoses of various diameters. I knew a young woman in Portland who wore one around her neck.
On Jul 25, 2023, at 4:04 PM, Jack Woodul wrote:
There once was a woman from Portland
Who found the city a wild druggy sportland
The hose clamp round her neck
Saved her from cervical wreck
During cocaine sneezing in Snortland
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Thanks to Rob
This is a great video of F-4's off Midway. The first comment is from a pilot, "Outlaw" Jim Olsen, who flew from 72-74.
https://youtu.be/V86npgpcB7A?si=YykJeSHBbQuLO0UV
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Thanks to Mike
Navy tells aircrews to question 'inappropriate' call signs after lewd flight name
Boys Will Be Boys!
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-aircrews-call-signs/
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
August 18, 2024
There's a jellyfish that's considered biologically immortal.
Immortality is the dream of ancient mystics and futuristic transhumanists alike, but for humans and most other animals on Earth, the promise of such longevity remains out of reach — that is, unless you're a jellyfish known scientifically as Turritopsis dohrnii, nicknamed the "immortal jellyfish." The life cycle of most jellyfish begins with a fertilized egg that grows to a larval stage called a planula. Eventually, the planula attaches itself to a surface, and forms into a tubelike structure known as a polyp. These polyps eventually bud and break away into an ephyra, aka a young jellyfish, and these floating youngsters then develop into adult medusae capable of sexual reproduction.
Most species of jellyfish call it quits at this point, and eventually die like every other species on Earth — but not Turritopsis dohrnii. Instead, when this creature becomes damaged for whatever reason, it can revert to a blob of living tissue that eventually turns back into a polyp, and once again its developmental process repeats. Of course, this jellyfish isn't immune to the numerous dangers of the ocean — whether from predators or climate change — but if left to their own devices, these incredible creatures can just go on living forever.
Although the immortal jellyfish is a longevity outlier in the animal kingdom, there are a few other organisms that can pull off similar feats. Planarian worms display a limitless ability for regeneration, and can become two worms when cut in half. Additionally, the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans is resistant to basically everything, as it can reassemble its genome and effectively return to life even after intense heat or radiation — a feat that earns the hardy bacterium the fitting nickname "Lazarus microbe." Maybe immortality isn't so impossible after all.
A group of jellyfish is known as a "_Smack_," though sometimes it's called a "bloom" or "swarm."
Numbers Don't Lie
Length (in feet) of the tentacles of the largest lion's mane jellyfish on record
120
Minimum number of years ago that scientists estimate ancestors of jellyfish first roamed the oceans
500 million
Estimated age (in years) of Methuselah, a bristlecone pine in California that scientists say could also be immortal
4,800
Percentage of a jellyfish's body that is water
95
Length (in feet) of the tentacles of the largest lion's mane jellyfish on record
120
Jellyfish do not have a brain (or a heart).
Most animals, whether a minuscule fruit fly or a complex human, have a central nerve center known as the brain. However, jellyfish don't follow this seemingly basic biological blueprint. Instead, jellyfish rely on two separate nervous systems: The "large nerve net" controls swimming, while the "small nerve net" is essentially responsible for everything else. Even without a brain, jellyfish perform complex actions, especially when feeding and mating, suggesting that brains aren't a requirement when it comes to defining life on Earth. In fact, jellyfish might be better at the whole "living" thing than many animals — biologists say that they've survived every single extinction event in Earth's history.
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Thanks to History Facts
Only one U.S. national park is named after a person.
U.S. HISTORY
F or the most part, America's 63 national parks are named not after people, but after the cities and towns where they're located or the geographical features in and around the parks. There are a couple of national parks that indirectly take their names from individuals — for example, Bryce Canyon National Park is named for Bryce Canyon, which is named for Mormon pioneer Ebenezer Bryce — but Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the only park that's directly named after a person.
Teddy Roosevelt was an avid outdoorsman and conservationist, and made it a priority in his life and presidency to preserve the United States' natural resources. During his two terms as president, he established the United States Forest Service, protected 150 national forests, and created five national parks. Along with several bird preserves, game preserves, and national monuments, Roosevelt protected around 230 million acres of public land.
Though Roosevelt was a New Yorker, the Little Missouri badlands in North Dakota held a special place in his heart. He first visited the region in 1883 at the age of 24 to hunt big game, and he fell in love with what he called its "desolate, grim beauty." The next year, his wife and his mother died within hours of each other, and he returned to the area to grieve and established a ranch there. It remained a sanctuary for him throughout his life. After Roosevelt's death in 1919, a park in the badlands he loved so much seemed like an apt memorial. It took another three decades to map the land and complete the site, but in 1947, Harry S. Truman formally established Teddy Roosevelt Memorial Park, which was designated as a national park in 1978.
By the Numbers
National wildlife refuges in the United States
570+
American bison in conservation herds
20,500
Teddy Roosevelt's age at his presidential inauguration
42
National parks that existed before the NPS was established
14
DID YOU KNOW?
Mount Rainier is named after a man who never came close to it.
British explorer George Vancouver surveyed the Pacific Northwest coast in the late 18th century, and he named a lot of places along the way. When he spotted Mount Rainier, now the central fixture of Mount Rainier National Park, he decided to name it after his good friend Peter Rainier, a rear admiral in the British navy. Even though Rainier, who fought for the British in the American Revolutionary War, never actually saw his namesake mountain, the name stuck — though some locals prefer to use the mountain's Indigenous name, Tahoma.
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
12 Golden Facts About Getting Older
It's a fact of life — people grow old. While modern society tends to obsess about the negatives of aging, studies suggest that we often experience more happiness and contentment in our later years. These 12 facts investigate the phenomenon of growing old, debunk some persistent myths about aging, and explore the brighter side of those golden years.
Say Goodbye To Migraines
As our bodies age, they naturally become more susceptible to a variety of illnesses and maladies — but migraines are the rare exception. Migraines often first develop in adolescence, and while both sexes are affected, women are three times more likely to develop migraines compared to men (often due to a fluctuation of estrogen levels). However, the frequency of migraines eventually peaks at the age of 40 and actually gets better as we enter our golden years. Stress and hormones are the most common triggers for migraines, and these two factors usually affect older people with less severity. That said, pain, smoking, and alcohol can still contribute to migraines in seniors, and although migraines generally subside with age, they are still the second-most-common headache disorder in older people (after tension headaches). One in 10 older adults still experience them about once a year.
Hair Doesn't Actually "Turn" Gray
One of the hallmarks of aging is that our lifelong hair color begins to turn gray, or in some cases, white. Although an entire industry is built around hiding this fact, human hair isn't actually turning gray so much as no longer supplying the pigments necessary to produce color. This occurs when hydrogen peroxide builds up after wear-and-tear on the hair follicles. That blocks the normal synthesis of melanin, which is responsible for all shades of hair color.
Older Adults Are Happier Than People in Their 20s on Average
As people age, we also gain a certain calm. A study published in 2016 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry analyzed a random sample of 1,546 people ages 21 to 100 in San Diego. Although younger people in the survey responded positively in terms of physical health compared to older folks (as anticipated), older adults far outperformed younger generations in terms of mental well-being. Panic disorders are also reported as less common among older cohorts compared to younger people, and developing a panic disorder later in life is a rarity.
They Also Sweat Less, Too
As we age, our skin loses collagen, gets thinner, and presses our sweat glands close to the surface of our skin. This process is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, because these glands are squeezed, it's harder for sweat to come out of our pores, meaning older people sweat less overall. This may be a check mark in the "pro" column for personal hygiene, but it does come with a few negative side effects. With a reduced ability to sweat, older adults can have trouble regulating temperature during strenuous exercise or excessive heat. Sweat also plays an important role in healing, as it helps stimulate wound closure in skin cells. Thankfully, a lifetime of physical fitness helps slow down this process so you can sweat long into your golden years.
Older People Vote More Than Any Other Age Group
Older people may not feel as strong as they did in their youth, but in terms of political power, they're as strong as ever. In 2018, 64% of people 65 and over voted in the U.S. midterm election — the highest turnout of any age group — and the 65- to 74-year-old cohort also had the highest turnout in the 2020 election. There are a couple of reasons why the older vote is particularly robust. The biggest may be that older Americans, as well as seniors in other democracies, have government programs and initiatives they rely on, such as Medicare, prescription drug pricing, and Social Security, and because these policies so directly affect them, elections tend to turn out seniors in higher numbers. (There are other factors at play, too — older folks may simply have more time on their hands.) Senior citizens also grease the wheels of democracy, as they're the most likely age group to volunteer as poll workers on Election Day.
Noses and Ears Don't Keep Growing, But They Do Droop
While a common myth purports that our ears and nose continue to grow as we age (while the rest of us generally shrinks), that's not entirely true. Like most other parts of our body, our ears and nose stop growing once we're in adulthood, but the constant tug of gravity over the decades causes these cartilage-filled features to droop over time. This constant pull actually causes the collagen and elastic fibers in our ears and nose to elongate, and this lengthening, combined with surrounding facial structures losing overall volume, often produces the illusion of growing ears and noses as we age. This elongation is a slow and steady process; studies have shown that ears can lengthen some 0.22 millimeters a year. Interestingly, the process is so precise that you can discern a person's age just by measuring their ears.
Old Age Isn't a Modern Phenomenon
A common misconception about old age is that it's a relatively modern phenomenon, as our predecessors lived brutish lives cut short by disease and war. While modern medicine has certainly expanded life expectancy, many people in the past lived as long as people live today. For example, some ancient Roman offices sought by politically ambitious men couldn't even be held until someone was 30 — not exactly a great idea if people didn't live many years beyond that. Scientists have analyzed the pelvis joints (a reliable indicator of age) in skeletons from ancient civilizations and found that many people lived long lives. One study analyzing skeletons from Cholula, Mexico, between 900 and 1531 CE found that a majority of specimens lived beyond the age of 50. Low life expectancy in ancient times is impacted more by a high infant mortality rate than by people living unusually short lives. Luckily, modern science has helped more humans survive our vulnerable childhood years and life expectancy averages have risen as a result.
Older People Requiring Less Sleep Is a Myth
Another myth about getting old is that as we age, humans need less and less sleep, somehow magically subsisting on six hours or less when we enter our senior years. The truth is that the amount of sleep a person needs is only altered during childhood and adolescence as our bodies need more energy to do the tough work of growing. Once we're in our 20s, humans require the same amount of sleep per night for the rest of their lives (though the exact amount differs from person to person). In fact, the elderly are more likely to be sleep-deprived because they receive lower-quality sleep caused by sickness, pain, medications, or a trip or two to the bathroom. This can be why napping during the day becomes more common as we grow older.
Some of Our Bones Never Stop Growing
The common perception of human biology is that our bones put on some serious inches in our youth, and then by the time we're 20 or so, nature pumps the brakes and our skeleton stays static forever. While that's true of a majority of our bones, some don't quite follow this simplistic blueprint. A 2008 study for Duke University determined that the bones in the skull continue to grow, with the forehead moving forward and cheek bones moving backward. Unfortunately, this imperceptible bit of a facial movement exacerbates wrinkles, because as the skull shifts forward, the overlying skin sags.
The pelvis also keeps growing throughout your life. Scientists analyzing the pelvic width of 20-year-olds compared to 79-year-olds found a 1-inch difference in width, which adds an additional 3 inches to your waistband. That means our widening in the middle as we age isn't just about a slower metabolism.
Pupils Get Smaller As We Age
While our hips get bigger, our pupils get smaller. The human pupil is controlled by the circumferential sphincter and iris dilator muscles, and as we add on the years, those muscles weaken. Because of this loss of muscle function, pupils get smaller as we age, and are also less responsive to light. Smaller pupils make it harder to see at night, so people in their 60s need three times as much light to read comfortably as people in their 20s. Reading a menu in a dimly lit restaurant? Forget about it. Other eye changes include an increased likeliness of presbyopia, or farsightedness (which can often be resolved with readers), and cataracts, or a clouding of the eye's lens. In fact, half of people over the age of 80 will have experienced a cataract of some kind.
Older People Have a Stronger "Immune Memory"
Although the body experiences some slowing down as we age, growing old isn't all bad news. Researchers from the University of Queensland found that older people had stronger immunities than people in their 20s, as the body keeps a repository of illnesses that can stretch back decades. This extra line of defense begins to drop off in our 70s and 80s, but until then, our bodies generally just get better and better at fighting off disease due to biological experience. Additionally, as we age we experience fewer migraines, the severity of allergies declines, and we produce less sweat. Older people also exhibit higher levels of "crystalized intelligence" (or what some might call "wisdom") than any other age group.
The Atoms That Make Up All of Us Are Already Billions of Years Old
It's true that age is just a number, and in the cosmic view of the universe, human age is pretty insignificant. The atoms that make up the human body are already billions of years old. For example, hydrogen — one of the key components of our bodies — formed in the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. Likewise, carbon, the primary component of all known life, formed in the fiery cauldron of stars at least 7 billion years ago. So when someone says we're all made of "star stuff," they're very much telling the truth (we're also made from various supernovae). And while we grow old on Earth, this is only the latest chapter of a story that stretches back to the beginning of everything — and it's a story that'll continue until the universe ends.
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This Day in U S Military History…….18 August
1942 – Marines left Makin Island after destroying a seaplane base, two radio stations, a supply warehouse, and killing about 100 Japanese soldiers.
1942 – On Guadalcanal, Japanese reinforcements are landed at Taivu and a detachment of 1,000 troops under the leadership of Colonel Ichiki starts towards the American position. The Japanese believe there are only 3,000 Americans on the Island. There are actually 10,000 and the airstrip is now ready to receive aircraft.
1951 – The Battle of Bloody Ridge began. During the battle, the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and its attached units sustained 326 killed in action, 2,032 wounded and 414 missing. The enemy's dead totaled 1,389. The 15th Field Artillery Battalion set a record of 14,425 rounds fired in a 24-hour period.
1965 – After a deserter from the First Vietcong Regiment had revealed that an attack was imminent against the U.S. base at Chu Lai, the Marines launch Operation Starlite in the Van Tuong peninsula in Quang Ngai Province. In this, the first major U.S. ground battle of the Vietnam War, 5,500 Marines destroyed a Viet Cong stronghold, scoring a resounding victory. During the operation, which lasted six days, ground forces, artillery from Chu Lai, close air support, and naval gunfire combined to kill nearly 700 Vietcong soldiers. U.S. losses included 45 Marines dead and more than 200 wounded.
1966 – First ship-to-shore satellite radio message sent from USS Annapolis in South China Sea to Pacific Fleet Headquarters at Pearl Harbor.
1968 – The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launch a limited offensive in the south with 19 separate attacks throughout South Vietnam. In the heaviest fighting in three months, Communist troops attacked key positions along the Cambodian border in Tay Ninh and Binh Long provinces, northwest of Saigon. In Tay Ninh, 600 Viet Cong, supported by elements of two North Vietnamese divisions, attacked the provincial capital, capturing several government installations. U.S. reinforcements from the Twenty-fifth Infantry Division were rushed to the scene and after a day of house-to-house fighting expelled the communists from the city.
1976 – Two U.S. Army officers were killed in Korea's demilitarized zone as a group of North Korean soldiers wielding axes and metal pikes attacked U.S. and South Korean soldiers. Major Arthur G. Bonifas was attacked and beaten to death by North Korean soldiers as he attempted to cut down a poplar tree in the DMZ.
1998 – In Kenya FBI agents, acting on a tip from Mohammed Saddiq Odeh, raided The Hilltop Hotel in Nairobi and confiscated 175 pounds of TNT. The room was reported to have been occupied by 2 Palestinians, a Saudi and an Egyptian from Aug 3 to Aug 7.
2002 – Operation Mountain Sweep was the first for the 82nd Airborne Division since its arrival in Afghanistan. The troopers of the 82nd joined with Army Rangers and other coalition special operations forces to mount five combat air assault missions. Combat engineers, aviation assets and civil affairs detachments also took part in the operation. Mountain Sweep continued Operation Mountain Lion in searching out al Qaeda and Taliban forces and information about the terrorist organizations. The troops discovered five separate weapons caches and two caches of Taliban documents. The operation took place mainly around the villages of Dormat and Narizah, south of the cities of Khowst and Gardez. The troopers found an anti-aircraft artillery gun, two 82mm mortars and ammunition, a recoilless rifle, rockets, rocket-propelled grenades, machines guns and thousands of small arms rounds. Coalition forces detained 10 persons during the operation. The 229th, serving as the aviation arm for Task Force Shark, conducted 14 helicopter missions in support of the operation. More than 2,000 Coalition forces, consisting of seven infantry companies, combat engineers and elements of three aviation battalions, took part in the operation, completing Operation Mountain Sweep in the former al Qaeda and Taliban areas of Southeastern Afghanistan on August 26.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
TAYLOR, JOSEPH
Rank and organization: Private, Company E, 7th Rhode Island Infantry. Place and date: At Weldon Railroad, Va., 18 August 1864. Entered service at: Burrillville, R.I. Birth: England. Date of issue: 20 July 1897. Citation: While acting as an orderly to a general officer on the field and alone, encountered a picket of 3 of the enemy and compelled their surrender.
*CHELI, RALPH (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Near Wewak, New Guinea, 18 August 1943. Entered service at: Brooklyn, N.Y. Birth: San Francisco, Calif. G.O. No.: 72, 28 October 1943. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy. While Maj. Cheli was leading his squadron in a dive to attack the heavily defended Dagua Airdrome, intercepting enemy aircraft centered their fire on his plane, causing it to burst into flames while still 2 miles from the objective. His speed would have enabled him to gain necessary altitude to parachute to safety, but this action would have resulted in his formation becoming disorganized and exposed to the enemy. Although a crash was inevitable, he courageously elected to continue leading the attack in his blazing plane. From a minimum altitude, the squadron made a devastating bombing and strafing attack on the target. The mission completed, Maj. Cheli instructed his wingman to lead the formation and crashed into the sea.
*THOMASON, CLYDE
Rank and organization: sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 23 May 1914, Atlanta, Ga. Accredited to: Georgia. Citation: For conspicuous heroism and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty during the Marine Raider Expedition against the Japanese-held island of Makin on 17-18 August 1942. Leading the advance element of the assault echelon, Sgt. Thomason disposed his men with keen judgment and discrimination and, by his exemplary leadership and great personal valor, exhorted them to like fearless efforts. On 1 occasion, he dauntlessly walked up to a house which concealed an enemy Japanese sniper, forced in the door and shot the man before he could resist. Later in the action, while leading an assault on an enemy position, he gallantly gave his life in the service of his country. His courage and loyal devotion to duty in the face of grave peril were in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
O'MALLEY, ROBERT E.
Rank and organization: Sergeant (then Cpl.), U .S. Marine Corps, Company 1, 3d Battalion, 3d Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division (Rein). Place and date: Near An Cu'ong 2, South Vietnam, 18 August 1965. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Born: 3 June 1943, New York, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the communist (Viet Cong) forces at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While leading his squad in the assault against a strongly entrenched enemy force, his unit came under intense small-arms fire. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Sgt. O'Malley raced across an open rice paddy to a trench line where the enemy forces were located. Jumping into the trench, he attacked the Viet Cong with his rifle and grenades, and singly killed 8 of the enemy. He then led his squad to the assistance of an adjacent marine unit which was suffering heavy casualties. Continuing to press forward, he reloaded his weapon and fired with telling effect into the enemy emplacement. He personally assisted in the evacuation of several wounded marines, and again regrouping the remnants of his squad, he returned to the point of the heaviest fighting. Ordered to an evacuation point by an officer, Sgt. O'Malley gathered his besieged and badly wounded squad, and boldly led them under fire to a helicopter for withdrawal. Although 3 times wounded in this encounter, and facing imminent death from a fanatic and determined enemy, he steadfastly refused evacuation and continued to cover his squad's boarding of the helicopters while, from an exposed position, he delivered fire against the enemy until his wounded men were evacuated. Only then, with his last mission accomplished, did he permit himself to be removed from the battlefield. By his valor, leadership, and courageous efforts in behalf of his comrades, he served as an inspiration to all who observed him, and reflected the highest credit upon the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service.
*PAUL, JOE C.
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company H, 2d Battalion, 4th Marines (Rein), 3d Marine Division (Rein). Place and date: near Chu Lai, Republic of Vietnam, 18 August 1965. Entered service at: Dayton, Ohio. Born: 23 April 1946, Williamsburg, Ky. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. In violent battle, L/Cpl. Paul's platoon sustained 5 casualties as it was temporarily pinned down, by devastating mortar, recoilless rifle, automatic weapons, and rifle fire delivered by insurgent communist (Viet Cong) forces in well entrenched positions. The wounded marines were unable to move from their perilously exposed positions forward of the remainder of their platoon, and were suddenly subjected to a barrage of white phosphorous rifle grenades. L/Cpl. Paul, fully aware that his tactics would almost certainly result in serious injury or death to himself, chose to disregard his safety and boldly dashed across the fire-swept rice paddies, placed himself between his wounded comrades and the enemy, and delivered effective suppressive fire with his automatic weapon in order to divert the attack long enough to allow the casualties to be evacuated. Although critically wounded during the course of the battle, he resolutely remained in his exposed position and continued to fire his rifle until he collapsed and was evacuated. By his fortitude and gallant spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death, he saved the lives of several of his fellow marines. His heroic action served to inspire all who observed him and reflect the highest credit upon himself, the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the cause of freedom.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for 18 August, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
18 August
1910: At Fort Sam Houston, Cpl Glen Madole and Oliver G. Simmons, the Army's first civilian aircraft mechanic, added wheels to Signal Corps Airplane No. 1. This effort produced a tricycle landing gear that eliminated the need for launching rails and catapults. (21)
1911: CHICAGO AIR MEET. Phillip O. Parmalee established a new American altitude record of 10,837 feet. (24)
1926: First contract let for a metal-clad airship. (24)
1941: President Roosevelt announced agreements to let Pan American Airways ferry warplanes from the US to British forces in the Middle East via West Africa. (24)
1948: The Berlin Airlift corridor equipped with flight aids to ensure winter airlift operations. (4)
1951: KOREAN WAR/Operation STRANGLE. FEAF began this operation against N. Korean railroads. (28)
1956: Last class in Air Force to fly piston-engined T-6 aircraft graduated at Barstow AB, Fla. The Air Force used various versions of the T-6 to polish pilot skills since 1941.
1965: The first Minuteman II launch from an operationally configured silo at Vandenberg AFB succeeded. (6)
1977: The USAF accepted its first F-16B from General Dynamics at Fort Worth. (12)
1978: At McConnell AFB, A1C Tina M. Ponzer (381 SMW) became SAC's first enlisted female to perform Titan II alert duty. (1) (6)
1987: The 308 SMW's inactivation at Little Rock AFB officially ended SAC's Titan II missile program.
1992: Operation SOUTHERN WATCH Begins. The operation restricted Iraqi flights south of 32 degrees north latitude. AMC airlifted US forces to Saudi Arabia to support the operation. The command also deployed tankers to refuel fighters flying combat air patrols. (16) (18)
1993: The McDonnell Douglas "Delta Clipper Experimental" (DC-X), a subscale, single-stage-to-orbit prototype completed a 60-second flight over White Sands Missile Range. The 42-foot-tall craft took off vertically, hovered at 150 feet, moved laterally 350 feet, and landed tail down. (20)
1999: Operation AVID RESPONSE. After a devastating earthquake rocked western Turkey, AMC began its support of this international relief effort. A C-5 from the 436 AW at Dover AFB left the US for Istanbul with a 70-person search and rescue team. The team, with 5 search and rescue dogs, 56,000 pounds of equipment, and three vehicles, set up operations in nearby Izmit. Two KC-10s from the 305 AMW at McGuire AFB refueled the C-5 during its nonstop flight to Turkey. By 10 September, when the AVID RESPONSE task force at Topel NAS, Turkey, disbanded, AMC aircraft had flown 20 missions to support the earthquake relief effort. (22)
2005: The 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB became the first unit to achieve initial operational capability with the JASSM cruise missile. (AFNEWS Article, "Dyess AFB Demonstrates B-1B's Upgrades, Combat Capabilities,"
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