To All,
Good Friday Morning September 6.. Yesterday got up to 103 and today is more of the same. I am off to the Bubba Breakfast this morning and I hope to see many of you there.
Have a great weekend
Warm Regards,
skip
Make it a good Day
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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
Today in Naval and Marine Corps History
September 6
1918—In the first use of major-caliber naval guns in a land offensive, a U.S. naval railway battery of five, 14-inch guns begin long-range bombardment of German forces near Soissons, France.
1930—USS Grebe (AM 43) arrives at Santo Domingo with supplies and medicines for victims of a hurricane three days prior. She is joined by USS Gilmer (DD 223) with a party of Marines for relief and rescue work.
1939—The Navy begins formation of Neutrality Patrol for Atlantic Ocean.
1940—First destroyers transferred to Great Britain at Halifax, Nova Scotia, under "Destroyers-for- Bases agreement.
1944—USS Independence (CVL 22) begins the use of a specially trained air-group for night work. This time was the first in which a fully equipped night carrier operated with a fast carrier task force.
1945 - U.S. troops begin returning to U.S. when Task Force 11 left Tokyo Bay for U.S.
1947—A captured German V 2 rocket from World War II is successfully launched from a ship, fired by USS Midway (CVB 41).
1953—Exchange of prisoners of war from Korean War called Operation Big Switch ends.
1997—USS Hopper (DDG 70) is commissioned at San Francisco, Calif. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is the first ship in the Navy to be named after the pioneering computer scientist Rear Adm. Grace Hopper, often referred to as Grandma COBOL.
1997—USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) is commissioned at its homeport of Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. The boat is the last of the Navy's 18 Ohio-class nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarines.
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Today in World History
September 6
394 Theodosius becomes sole ruler of Italy after defeating Eugenius at the Battle of the River Frigidus.
1422 Sultan Murat II ends a vain siege of Constantinople.
1522 One of the five ships that set out in Ferdinand Magellan's trip around the world makes it back to Spain. Only 15 of the original 265 men that set out survived. Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.
1688 Imperial troops defeat the Turks and take Belgrade, Serbia.
1793 French General Jean Houchard and his 40,000 men begin a three-day battle against an Anglo-Hanoveraian army at Hondschoote, southwest Belgium, in the wars of the French Revolution.
1847 Henry David Thoreau leaves Walden Pond and moves back into town, to Concord, Massachusetts.
1861 Union General Ulysses S. Grant's forces capture Paducah, Kentucky from Confederate forces.
1870 The last British troops to serve in Austria are withdrawn.
1901 President William McKinley is shot while attending a reception at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, by 28-year-old anarchist Leon Czolgosz. McKinley dies eight days later, the third American president assassinated.
1907 The luxury liner Lusitania leaves London for New York on her maiden voyage.
1918 The German Army begins a general retreat across the Aisne, with British troops in pursuit.
1936 Aviator Beryl Markham flies the first east-to-west solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
1937 The Soviet Union accuses Italy of torpedoing two Russian ships in the Mediterranean.
1941 Germany announces that all Jews living in the country will have to begin wearing a Star of David.
1943 The United States asks the Chinese Nationals to join with the Communists to present a common front to the Japanese.
1953 The last American and Korean prisoners are exchanged in Operation Big Switch, the last official act of the Korean War.
1965 Indian troops invade Lahore; Pakistan paratroopers raid Punjab.
1972 The world learns an earlier announcement that all Israeli athletes taken hostage at the Munich Olympics had been rescued was erroneous; all had been killed by their captors from the Black September terrorist group; all but 3 terrorists also died in shootout around midnight.
1976 Lieutenant Viktor Belenko, a Soviet air force pilot defects, flying a MiG-25 jet fighter to Japan and requesting political asylum in US.
1988 Lee Roy Young becomes the first African-American Texas Ranger in the force's 165-year history.
1991 USSR officially recognizes independence for the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
1991 Leningrad, second-largest city in the USSR, is changed to Saint Petersburg, which had been the city's name prior to 1924.
1995 Baltimore Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a 56-year MLB record held by Lou Gehrig; in 2007 fans voted this achievement the most memorable moment in MLB history.
1997 Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales: over 1 million people line London's streets to honor her and 2.5 billion watched the event on TV.
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OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 2 September 2024 and ending Sunday, 8 September 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post of 1 September 1969… Wrap-up on "Balky Company A" and a NYT OpEd by James Reston, "A Whiff of Mutiny." The Nixon Dilemma: how do you keep troops fighting forward while you are pulling out and going home? We lost more than 20,000 American brave hearts (KIA) while fighting the last three years of this lost cause.
(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 6 September
6-Sep: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2995
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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I can't remember if I showed you this one or not
This is for all my Bubbas who are worried about their memory problems.
Thanks to Doctor Rich For our yearly Alzheimer's test.
Who's afraid of Alzheimer's ?
In the following analysis the French Professor Bruno Dubois Director of the Institute of Memory and Alzheimer's Disease (IMMA) at La Pitié-Salpêtrière - Paris Hospitals / addresses the subject in a rather reassuring way:
"For some time now, I have been stuck and I do not know what we were I talking about ...
Before, I was afraid it was the beginning of Alzheimer's ... but today, after reading this article, I am reassured."
"If anyone is aware of his memory problems, he does not have Alzheimer's."
1. I forget the names of families ...
2. I do not remember where I put some things ...
It often happens in people 60 years and older that they complain that they lack memory.
"The information is always in the brain, it is the "processor" that is lacking. "
This is "Anosognosia" or temporary forgetfulness.
Half of people 60 and older have some symptoms that are due to age rather than disease.
The most common symptoms are:
- forgetting the name of a person,
- going to a room in the house and not remembering why we were going there ...
- a blank memory for a movie title or actor, an actress,
- a waste of time searching where we left our glasses or keys ...
After 60 years most people have such a difficulty, which indicates that it is not a disease but rather a characteristic due to the passage of years ...
Many people are concerned about these oversights hence the importance of the following statement:
"Those who are conscious of being forgetful have no serious problem of memory."
"Those who suffer from a memory illness or Alzheimer's, are not aware of what is happening."
Professor Bruno Dubois, Director of IMMA, reassures the majority of people concerned about their oversights:
"The more we complain about memory loss, the less likely we are to suffer from memory sickness.
- Now for a little neurological test:
Only use your eyes!
1- Find the C in the table below!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
2- If you have already found the C,
Then find the 6 in the table below.
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
69999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
3- Now find the N in the table below.
Attention, it's a little more difficult!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
If you pass these three tests without problem:
- you can cancel your annual visit to the neurologist.
- your brain is in perfect shape!
- you are far from having any relationship with Alzheimer's.
So, share this with your over-60 friends, it can reassure them...
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Thanks to History Facts
Tomatoes were called "love apples" because they were believed to be aphrodisiacs.
WORLD HISTORY
T oday, tomatoes are so common and ubiquitous that some of us have no qualms sacrificing the juicy produce by chucking them at subpar performers. Yet prior to the early 16th century, tomatoes existed exclusively in their native South America. This all changed when Spanish colonizers began taking tomatoes home to Europe; the seeds of the tomato plant grew quite well there, and it was soon being cultivated throughout the continent. This unfamiliar, exotic fruit from the New World fascinated Europeans, not least of all in France, where tomatoes were referred to as "pomme d'amour," or "love apples," because they were believed to be an aphrodisiac.
The exact reason the French developed this belief in the tomato's libidinous power is not known, but there's at least one explanation often offered by historians. One of the earliest Europeans to write about tomatoes, Italian naturalist Pietro Andrea Mattioli, classified the tomato as a member of the nightshade family, and referred to it as a "mandrake" (another nightshade plant). Mandrakes were widely considered an aphrodisiac in 16th-century Europe — in fact, they appear in the Bible as the key ingredient in a love potion, and their name in Hebrew translates to "love apples." It's possible the French assumed that the novel "mandrake" the Spanish brought from the New World shared the same erotic potency as its biblical counterpart.
By the Numbers
Varieties of tomatoes currently grown worldwide
10,000
Total estimated budget of the 1978 B-movie parody Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
$90,000
Guinness World Record for the most cherry tomatoes grown on a single stem
1,269
Tons of tomatoes processed by the Heinz company every year
2 million
DID YOU KNOW?
Europeans once thought tomatoes were poisonous.
The belief that tomatoes were aphrodisiacs wasn't the only misconception that 16th-century Europeans had about the strange new fruit. For more than two centuries after tomatoes were introduced from South America, many Europeans believed they were poisonous, and they acquired the sinister nickname "poison apples." This false belief in the tomato's toxicity might have had something to do with one of its infamous relatives, the highly toxic belladonna plant. Another possibility is that Europeans thought tomatoes were poisonous because some aristocrats actually did occasionally fall ill or even die after eating them. This sickness wasn't caused by the tomatoes, though — at least, not directly. Rather, many wealthy people would eat off of pewter plates, which contained high quantities of lead. The acid in the tomatoes would cause the lead to leach out of the pewter and into people's food, causing lead poisoning. Until the real reason for these mysterious illnesses was discovered, many people believed — quite unfairly — that a toxin contained in the tomato itself was to blame.
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Thanks to Carl
Why teachers drink
The following questions were set in last year's GED examination. These are genuine answers (from 18 year olds) .
Q. Name the four seasons
A.. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar
Q. How is dew formed
A.. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire
Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on
A.. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed
Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections
A.. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election
Q. What are steroids
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs (Shoot yourself now, there is little hope)
Q.. What happens to your body as you age
A.. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental
Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty
A.. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery (So true)
Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes
A.. Premature death
Q. What is artificial insemination
A... When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow
Q. How can you delay milk turning sour
A. Keep it in the cow (Simple, but brilliant)
Q. How are the main 20 parts of the body categorized (e.g The abdomen)
A.. The body is consisted into 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity.
The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal
cavity contains the five bowels: A,E,I,O,U
Q. What is the fibula?
A.. A small lie
Q. What does 'varicose' mean?
A.. Nearby
Q What is the most common form of birth control
A.. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium. (That would work)
Q. Give the meaning of the term 'Caesarean section'
A.. The caesarean section is a district in Rome
Q. What is a seizure?
A.. A Roman Emperor. (Julius Seizure, I came, I saw, I had a fit)
Q. What is a terminal illness
A. When you are sick at the airport. (Irrefutable)
Q. What does the word 'benign' mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight (brilliant)
AND THE BEST IS LAST:
Q. What is a turbine?
A.. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head. Once a Arab boy reaches puberty,
he removes his diaper and wraps it around his head. (now we're getting somewhere)
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For the ladies
Thanks to Interesting Facts
Which war helped popularize the bra?
For nearly 400 years, women in Western Europe and North America were expected to wear corsets beneath their clothing — restrictive, binding bustiers that cinched at the waist and opened toward the chest to accentuate the natural curves of the body. This all changed around the First World War, when a shortage of metal, the dominant material in corsets, led to a redistribution of resources as well as a cultural shift. Steel went toward planes and tanks and other military equipment, and American women went to work in factories to contribute to the war effort. Hard labor, however, could not be performed in a corset — indeed almost nothing could be performed in a corset, barring sitting and standing. These women needed something breathable, loose, and functional. Enter Caresse Crosby, a young debutant who, in lieu of wearing a corset, opted to sew together two handkerchiefs ahead of a social ball, debuting the first "modern bra" on the dance floor. She patented the first-ever "backless brassiere," which she later sold to the Warner Brothers Corset Company. From there, the modern bra took off in a variety of styles and functionalities. In the postwar era, the bandeau bra — a cylindrical, cupless garment not unlike a modern bralette — was popular under slim-fitting 1920s dresses. Soon after, the cupped bra took shape with its infamous pointed cups and letter-based sizing. The variable styles allowed women the chance to express themselves and move their bodies freely, though the relief of taking off a bra at the end of the day is universal and timeless.
6 Lesser-Known Firsts in Women's History
Women have contributed to almost every facet of life, from sports and science to art and politics. While some female role models are starting to get more recognition, we still tend to gloss over history's supporting female characters — women who broke their own glass ceilings while serving others, smashing records, and pursuing personal passions. Here are a few stories you may have missed in history class.
1 of 6
First Known Female Postmaster in Colonial America
Mary Katharine Goddard was among the first female publishers in the U.S., a socially precarious venture for a colonial woman during the country's fight for independence. Working with her mother, Sarah, and brother, William, Mary Katharine founded multiple publications starting in the 1760s. William frequently traveled between cities to establish new papers, leaving the bulk of news collecting and printing to his sister. In 1774, he appointed Mary Katharine to run The Maryland Journal while he focused on other pursuits (such as lobbying for a national postal service) and served time in debtor's prison. During the height of the Revolutionary War, Mary Katharine made a name for herself with fiery anti-British editorials. In 1775, she was appointed Baltimore's first postmaster — likely the first woman to hold such a position in colonial America — and in 1777, Congress commissioned her to print copies of the Declaration of Independence. (Surviving copies feature her printer's mark at the bottom.) Despite her success, however, Mary Katharine was pushed out of both roles at the war's end. In 1784, William rescinded her title as publisher, creating a lifelong rift between the siblings. Not long after, she was also removed from her postmaster job on the basis of sex. She wrote to George Washington asking to be reinstated, but the President passed her complaint to the postmaster general, who left her plea unanswered.
2 of 6
First Woman Surgeon and Female Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was the second U.S. woman to receive a medical degree (following Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell), but she became known as the country's first female surgeon. Following her medical school graduation in 1855, Walker went into practice with her husband and fellow doctor Albert Miller, though the Civil War would change the course of her career. Despite having a medical degree, Walker was denied work as a military surgeon in the Union Army because she was a woman. Instead, she volunteered at field hospitals in Washington, D.C., and Virginia until 1863, when Tennessee accepted her medical credentials and designated her as the Army's first female surgeon. Walker's proximity to battlefields put her at risk — in 1864, she was captured by Confederate troops and spent four months at the notoriously brutal Castle Thunder prison, where she suffered injuries that plagued her for the rest of her life. At the war's end, Walker was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for Meritorious Service, an honor that Congress revoked in 1917 on the grounds that her medical work was not directly on the front lines. She refused to return the award for the remaining two years of her life and was posthumously re-awarded the medal in 1977. More than 100 years later, Walker remains the only woman to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
3 of 6
First Female TV Game Show Host
Actress Arlene Francis found her footing in entertainment as a radio host, but it was a TV first that catapulted her career to new heights. In 1949, Francis became the first woman to host a television game show in the United States. On Blind Date, a show Francis originally hosted over radio airwaves, male contestants competed for an all-expenses-paid outing with women hidden behind a wall, the obvious catch being that they couldn't see their prospective dates and had to answer a litany of questions with the goal of being picked. Francis hosted the show for three years before moving on to films and Broadway stages, but her best-known role was a 25-year stint as a panelist on What's My Line?, another TV game show.
4 of 6
First Native American Woman to Argue a Supreme Court Case
Lyda Conley's legacy was preserving that of her ancestors — specifically their final resting place. Conley acted as a staunch (and armed) defender of the Wyandot National Burying Ground, a Kansas cemetery at risk of sale and destruction some 60 years after its creation. The cemetery was established in 1843 following typhoid and measles outbreaks that took hundreds of Wyandot lives; the loss was a particular blow to an Indigenous community that was forcibly relocated thanks to broken treaties with the U.S. government and the cruel Indian Removal Act of 1830. In 1890, Kansas senators introduced legislation to sell the burial ground; although it failed, the effort encouraged Lyda Conley to attend law school to defend the very cemetery in which her own parents, siblings, and grandparents were interred. Conley was admitted to the Missouri Bar in 1902, and within four years put her legal skills to work as the federal government moved to sell the cemetery. Conley and her sister Lena began a legal and physical siege for its protection, building an armed watch station called Fort Conley on the grounds and warning, "woe be to the man that first attempts to steal a body." In 1910, her legal fight made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she became the first Native American woman (and third woman ever) to argue a case before the judges. While the court ruled against her, years of media coverage about the cemetery worked in her favor. In 1913, the Kansas Senate passed legislation protecting the cemetery, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2017.
5 of 6
First Woman to Break the Sound Barrier
Aviator Jacqueline Cochran set more than 73 flight records during her lifetime, most for altitude and speed. In 1953, she also snagged the title for first woman to break the sound barrier. Her success was a product of her determination, which may have been honed during a difficult childhood; raised in Florida by a family with modest means, Cochran began working in a cotton mill at just six years old. At 10, she struck out on her own, working in salons for several years before launching her own cosmetics company in the mid-1930s. Around this time, in 1932, Cochran pursued her pilot's license with the goal of more easily reaching cross-country clients and business partners. Instead, she found a new passion that led her to compete in air racing, where she began setting speed records. When World War II started a few years later, she shifted her focus again to find ways to put her talents to practical use. In 1941, Cochran recruited two dozen female pilots for the Air Transport Auxiliary, a World War II program that utilized civilian pilots to transport military planes. That same year, she became the first woman to fly a bomber across the Atlantic Ocean. And by late 1943, she was commander of the Women's Air Force Service Pilots. Cochran continued flying after the war, with a renewed focus on speed; her reputation gained her access to military jets that helped her break records — including the sound barrier feat.
6 of 6
First Woman to Win Three Track-and-Field Olympic Gold Medals in a Single Year
No one would have guessed that Wilma Rudolph would be known as the fastest runner in the world by age 20 — most doctors believed she'd never even walk as an adult. After contracting scarlet fever, pneumonia, and polio when she was young, Rudolph lost much of her mobility, then slowly recovered with the help of leg braces she wore for several years. By the time she was nine years old, the determined future athlete had regained her ability to walk and began playing basketball; in high school, she was scouted by coaches for her speed on the court. One of those coaches invited Rudolph to train at Tennessee State University, where she refined her high-speed sprinting skills. She and her track teammates made two trips to the Olympics — first in 1956, when she was still in high school, and again in 1960. It was at the 1960 Games in Rome that Rudolph claimed three gold medals in track-and-field: one each in the 100-meter and 200-meter races, and another in the 4x100-meter relay. She became the first U.S. woman to do so at a single Olympics, simultaneously breaking three world records for speed. Rudolph retired from sports two years later but took up coaching and became a goodwill ambassador to French West Africa. Her Olympic achievements helped pave the way for the Black female athletes who would eventually break her records.
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This Day in U S Military History
September 6
1844 – Western explorer John C. Fremont arrives at the shores of the Great Salt Lake, one of the many areas he will map for the lasting benefit of a westward-moving nation. When Fremont reached the strange saltwater inland lake (a remnant of the much larger prehistoric Lake Bonneville), he was not the first Euro-American to view its shores. As early as the 1820s, fur trappers had returned to the East with tales of a bizarre salt lake where no fish swam, and the French explorer Benjamin Bonneville was the first to map the lake's outlines in 1837. But for the far-ranging John C. Fremont, the Great Salt Lake was only one small part of a much wider journey of discovery and mapping. Born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1813, Fremont began honing his skills as an explorer and mapmaker in his early twenties. His first major expedition was an 1842 survey of the Platte River for the U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers. More skilled in cartography and science than trailblazing and wilderness survival, Fremont relied heavily on the abilities of men like Kit Carson as guides and advisers. Fremont reached the Great Salt Lake during his second expedition. His 14 months of western rambling also took him across the Sierra Nevada and resulted in the first comprehensive map of the Great Basin, the region between the Wasatch and the Sierra Nevada mountains where water drains to neither the Pacific nor the Atlantic. After Fremont's Great Basin map was published, one commentator noted, it "changed the entire picture of the West." It also made Fremont a national hero. Along with charts resulting from three further expeditions, Fremont's maps became indispensable guides to thousands of overland immigrants heading westward to begin new lives. He died of peritonitis in New York City on July 13, 1890.
1901 – President William McKinley is shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley was greeting the crowd in the Temple of Music when Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, stepped forward and shot the president twice at point-blank range. McKinley lived for another week before finally succumbing to a gangrene infection on September 14. At the time of the shooting, President McKinley was very popular and America was in the midst of a period of peace and prosperity. Czolgosz, a laborer from Cleveland who fell under the sway of charismatic leaders of anarchy such as Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, became particularly obsessed with Gaetano Bresci, an anarchist who shot and killed King Humbert I of Italy on July 29, 1900. Czolgosz decided to kill McKinley to further the anarchist cause. While Presidents Lincoln and Garfield had been completely unprotected at the time of their assassinations, the newly formed Secret Service was now available to protect President McKinley. But when Czolgosz stepped up to shake McKinley's hand with a handkerchief covering the .32 revolver in his hand, the agents thought nothing of it. After the shots were fired, the agents grabbed Czolgosz and began pummeling him, but McKinley warned, "Be easy with him, boys," as he was helped to an ambulance. The president then told his secretary to be careful in telling the First Lady what happened. Working in a building with no electricity, surgeons operated on the president, who seemed to be recovering at first. Legend has it that his recovery diet was raw eggs and whiskey. Before lapsing into a coma and dying, McKinley's last words were: "It is God's way. His will, not ours, be done." McKinley's assassination led to reprisals against his critics across the country. Those who had spoken poorly of the president were tarred and feathered. Emma Goldman was even arrested for allegedly inspiring the murder. But Czolgosz took full and sole responsibility for the assassination and was sent to the electric chair less than two months later. On October 29, his last words were: "I am not sorry for my crime."
1915 – The first tank prototype was completed and given its first test drive on this day, developed by William Foster & Company for the British army. Several European nations had been working on the development of a shielded, tracked vehicle that could cross the uneven terrain of World War I trenches, but Great Britain was the first to succeed. Lightly armed with machine guns, the tanks made their first authoritative appearance at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, when 474 British tanks managed to break through the German lines. The Allies began using the vehicles in increasing numbers throughout the rest of the war. After World War I, European nations on all sides continued to build tanks at a frantic pace, arming them with even heavier artillery and plating. This competitive stockpiling came to a lethal head on the battlefields of World War II.
1945 – George Weller (d.2002), a Chicago Daily News journalist, wrote his 1st story on the bombing of Nagasaki. Posing as a US Army colonel Weller had slipped into Nagasaki in early September. His stories infuriated MacArthur so much he personally ordered that they be quashed, and the originals were never returned. Carbon copies of his stories, running to about 25,000 words on 75 typed pages, along with more than two dozen photos, were discovered by his son, Anthony, in 2004 at Weller's apartment in Rome, Italy. In 2005 the national Mainichi newspaper began serializing the stories and photographs for the first time since they were rejected by U.S. military censors.
1976 – A Soviet Air Force pilot lands his MIG fighter jet in Japan and asks for asylum in the United States. The incident was a serious embarrassment for the Soviets, and also provided a bit of a surprise for U.S. officials. When the Soviets first put the MIG-25 (known as the Foxbat) into production in the 1960s, U.S. officials became nearly hysterical. The new plane, they claimed, was the fastest, most advanced, and most destructive interceptor jet ever built. Its debut, they argued, meant that the United States was falling dangerously behind in the race to control the skies. On September 6, 1976, those officials got a close-up look at the aircraft. Soviet Air Force Lt. Viktor Belenko took his MIG-25 out of Soviet airspace and landed it at a Japanese airfield at Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido. Japanese police took the pilot into custody, where he immediately asked for asylum in the United States. Experts from the U.S. quickly arrived on the scene to get a firsthand look at the aircraft. After being questioned extensively by both Japanese and U.S. officials, Belenko was flown to the United States and granted political asylum. For the Soviets, the MIG-25 incident was a major diplomatic and military embarrassment. To have one of their most advanced planes delivered into the hands of their enemy was mortifying and was viewed as a serious setback to the Soviet weapons program. U.S. officials were in for a surprise. After a thorough check of the MIG-25, the Americans experts came away less than impressed. The plane was quite fast, but also unwieldy and almost completely incapable of close-quarters combat. In addition, the electronic technology of the plane was deemed to be far behind comparable U.S. aircraft. As one U.S. expert joked, "I guess it could be worse; it might have been made out of wood." The MIG-25 incident suggested that U.S. officials may have overestimated the Soviet threat in order to push for even higher American defense spending.
1997 – The USS Hopper, the 354th ship in the modern naval fleet, was commissioned. The high-tech destroyer is the 2nd warship to be named after a woman. Grace Hooper (d.1992) was a computer programmer for the Navy until she retired in 1986 at age 79. She coined the term "debugging" when she pulled a moth from her computer.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*MARTINEZ, BENITO
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company A, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Satae-ri Korea, 6 September 1952. Entered service at: Fort Hancock, Tex. Born: 21 March 1931, Fort Hancock, Tex. G.O. No.: 96, 29 December 1953. Citation. Cpl. Martinez, a machine gunner with Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. While manning a listening post forward of the main line of resistance, his position was attacked by a hostile force of reinforced company strength. In the bitter fighting which ensued, the enemy infiltrated the defense perimeter and, realizing that encirclement was imminent, Cpl. Martinez elected to remain at his post in an attempt to stem the onslaught. In a daring defense, he raked the attacking troops with crippling fire, inflicting numerous casualties. Although contacted by sound power phone several times, he insisted that no attempt be made to rescue him because of the danger involved. Soon thereafter, the hostile forces rushed the emplacement, forcing him to make a limited withdrawal with only an automatic rifle and pistol to defend himself. After a courageous 6-hour stand and shortly before dawn, he called in for the last time, stating that the enemy was converging on his position His magnificent stand enabled friendly elements to reorganize, attack, and regain the key terrain. Cpl. Martinez' incredible valor and supreme sacrifice reflect lasting glory upon himself and are in keeping with the honored traditions of the military service.
*DAVIS, RODNEY MAXWELL
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, 6 September 1967. Entered service at: Macon, Ga. Born: 7 April 1942, Macon, Ga. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the right guide of the 2d Platoon, Company B, in action against enemy forces. Elements of the 2d Platoon were pinned down by a numerically superior force of attacking North Vietnamese Army Regulars. Remnants of the platoon were located in a trench line where Sgt. Davis was directing the fire of his men in an attempt to repel the enemy attack. Disregarding the enemy hand grenades and high volume of small arms and mortar fire, Sgt. Davis moved from man to man shouting words of encouragement to each of them while firing and throwing grenades at the onrushing enemy. When an enemy grenade landed in the trench in the midst of his men, Sgt. Davis, realizing the gravity of the situation, and in a final valiant act of complete self-sacrifice, instantly threw himself upon the grenade, absorbing with his body the full and terrific force of the explosion. Through his extraordinary initiative and inspiring valor in the face of almost certain death, Sgt. Davis saved his comrades from injury and possible loss of life, enabled his platoon to hold its vital position, and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for September 6, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
6 September
1916: The Army dropped its first fragmentation bomb, the "Barlow Return Action," at the Signal Corps Aviation Station in Mineola, N. Y. (12) (24)
1919: At Dayton, Ohio, Maj Rudolph W. Schroeder, chief test pilot for the Engineering Division at McCook Field, and Lt G. A. Elfrey set a new unofficial two-man world altitude record of 28,250 feet. They used a Packard-Lepere LUSAC II, powered by a 400 HP Liberty engine with a Moss Turbo Supercharger. Schroeder used an oxygen system and special oxygen. (24)
1942: The VIII Bomber Command lost its first aircraft in combat when two B-17s failed to return from a strike on the Avions Poetz aircraft plant at Meaulte, France. (24)
1943: P-47s escorted a B-17 attack on an aircraft and bearing factory in Stuttgart, Germany. The fighters had little chance for combat as the Luftwaffe avoided them. Bad weather also frustrated the original target plans, so the bombers turned to targets of opportunity in Germany and France. This proved disastrous as enemy fighters claimed 45 bombers. (4)
1947: The carrier USS Midway successfully fired a captured German V-2 rocket from its deck. (24)
1978: General Dynamic's first production-model F-16 fighter landed at Edwards AFB, Calif., for testing, following a two-hour flight from the plant at Fort Worth, Tex. (3)
1985: Exercise BRAVE DEFENDER. Through 14 September, United States Air Forces in Europe forces participated in this exercise, the first off-post national ground defense exercise held by the British. (16)
1995: The Air Mobility Commnd coordinated an Air Transport International DC-8 mission from Charleston AFB, S. C., to Zagreb, Croatia, to carry 18 pallets of pharmaceutical and medical supplies for victims of the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. (18)
1997: From Charleston AFB, S. C., a 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron aircrew flew the first C-17 aeromedical evacuation training flight aboard the "The Spirit of Charleston" on a round trip to Bermuda. (22)
2002: Operation NOBLE EAGLE. Fighters resumed 24-hour combat air patrols temporarily over Washington DC and New York City as the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks approached. (32)
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