To All,
Good Thursday Morning September 12. 2024. Yesterday was a very busy day on many fronts. The best part was the opening of the double wrap of my ZO-6 Corvette after 18 months and the headlight to tail lite cleaning by a really good Man. With a new battery it turned over and roared. It leaves today for my son in Idaho. Yesterday Shadow sent some great stories and I will provide one each day for the next few days. Today is the last class of the Summer quarter and I have all the belts and certs ready pass out this evening to around 100 and we start the next quarter on Monday. The chickens got part of a reinforced roof yesterday and I have more work on the cage over the next few days.
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 12
1804 In the First Barbary War, the frigates USS Constellation and USS President capture two ships while attempting to enter the harbor during the blockade of Barbary ports, while the brig USS Argus, and USS Constellation later capture a third vessel attempting to enter.
1855 Marines and Sailors from the frigate USS John Adams land at Nukulau, Fiji Islands to seek owed debt to Americans from the King of Fiji, Cakobau. Refusing, he appeals to the American Ambassador in Australia. After years of refusal, Fiji becomes a British possession in 1874 instead.
1942 The Brazilian Navy is placed under operational control of the US Navy. The Navy is commanded by Vice Adm. Jonas H. Ingram as Commander, South Atlantic Force, Atlantic Fleet.
1944 USS Growler (SS 215) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese destroyer Shikinami 240 miles south of Hong Kong, and escort vessel Hirado 250 miles east of Hainan Island.
1944 USS Noa (APD 24) and USS Fullam (DD 474) collide off the Palau Islands. Despite this, USS Fullam, not only rescues all of USS Noa's men, but she also carries out daily shore bombardment and night harassing fire, as well as underwater demolition.
1944 - 5th Fleet carrier aircraft begin 3-day attack on Japanese shipping and facilities in Visayas, Philippines
1966 Gemini 11 is launched. Gemini 11's Commander is Charles Conrad Jr., Command Pilot. The mission lasts two days and 23 hours and includes 44 orbits at an altitude of 1368.9 km. An HS-3 helicopter from USS Guam (LPH 9) recovers the crew.
1987 USS Key West (SSN 722) is commissioned at her homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Va. Following the ceremony, the 35th Los Angeles-class attack submarine made a trip down to its name-sake city at Key West, Fla. The boat is the third US Navy vessel to be named after the nation's southern-most city.
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Today in World History
September 12
490 BC Athenian and Plataean Hoplites commanded by General Miltiades drive back a Persian invasion force under General Datis at Marathon.
1213 Simon de Montfort defeats Raymond of Toulouse and Peter II of Aragon at Muret, France.
1609 Henry Hudson sails into what is now New York Harbor aboard his sloop Half Moon.
1662 Governor Berkley of Virginia is denied his attempts to repeal the Navigation Acts.
1683 A combined Austrian and Polish army defeats the Turks at Kahlenberg and lifts the siege on Vienna, Austria.
1722 The Treaty of St. Petersburg puts an end to the Russo-Persian War.
1786 Despite his failed efforts to suppress the American Revolution, Lord Cornwallis is appointed governor general of India.
1836 Mexican authorities crush the revolt which broke out on August 25.
1918 British troops retake Havincourt, Moeuvres, and Trescault along the Western Front.
1919 Adolf Hitler joins German Worker's Party
1939 In response to the invasion of Poland, the French Army advances into Germany. On this day they reach their furthest penetration-five miles.
1940 Italian forces begin an offensive into Egypt from Libya.
1940 The Lascaux Caves in France, with their prehistoric wall paintings, are discovered.
1944 American troops fight their way into Germany.
1945 French troops land in Indochina.
1969 President Richard Nixon orders a resumption in bombing North Vietnam.
1977 Steve Biko, a South African activist opposing apartheid, dies while in police custody.
1980 Military coup in Turkey.
1990 East and West Germany, along with the UK, US and USSR—the Allied nations that had occupied post-WWII Germany—sign the final settlement for reunification of Germany.
1992 Space Shuttle Endeavor takes off on NASA's 50th shuttle mission; its crew includes the first African-American woman in space, the first married couple, and the first Japanese citizen to fly in a US spacecraft.
2003 UN lifts sanctions against Libya in exchange for that country accepting responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 and paying recompense to victims' families.
2007 Joseph Estrada, former president of the Philippines, is convicted of plunder.
2011 In New York City, the 9/11 Memorial Museum opens to the public.
September 11
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Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For The List for the week beginning Monday, 9 September 2024 and ending on Sunday, 15 September 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post of 8 September 1969… Ho Chi Minh, dead at age 79. His will and final "pep talk" are included in this post. Also, the issue of whether our captured air crewmen—Yankee Air Pirates held in North Vietnam — were POWs or war criminals subject to trials and execution resurfaces.
(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 12 September One of the phantom pilots was shot down on his 368th mission of the war but he was released at the end of the war.
12-Sep: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=3003
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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From the archives… worth the repeat
Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
Daily Memo: 9/11: The Perfect Op
By: George Friedman
Sep 12, 2023
It has been 22 years since the 9/11 attack that destroyed the World Trade Center buildings and a wing of the Pentagon and launched a string of American actions that were both inevitable and ultimately ineffective.
The attack was brilliant in conception. At its core were al-Qaida members who were prepared to go to their certain deaths. They entered the country through legal means about a year before the attack and received a flow of money for their operation. The most important part of the operation was the seizure of airliners that would serve as bombs, with the impact of the aircraft and the ignition of jet fuel serving as the agents of destruction.
Their mission required each of the four aircraft to have at least one pilot, but none of the plotters knew how to fly a plane. Apparently, the training could not take place in the Middle East because, considering the number of trainees, they might be detected. The plan therefore was to obtain flight training in the U.S., where private flying schools are common and where the hijackers would be hidden amid the large number of trainees. The men assigned to the mission had only to fly and navigate planes already airborne. They did not need to know how to take off or land. This oddity might have triggered concern, but the threat was inconceivable at the time.
The planes they chose to hijack seemed to have been thoughtfully selected. The hijackers wanted the aircraft to hit their targets as close to the same time as possible. If there was a wide gap, air defenses would be alerted and scrambled. Since radio contact would not be allowed or the voice would have had a foreign accent, the attackers needed to select planes that could hit their targets before interceptors could take off. When you look at the type of aircraft selected, they were all single-aisle planes, except the one that crashed in Pennsylvania. Taking control of the planes was fairly easy, since the attackers had weapons. (Pre-baggage check screening started after 9/11.) Once the pilots were incapacitated, the attackers took the controls and began changing course to the target. The danger at that point was that passengers, realizing what was happening, would surge toward the cockpit. Given the small number of attackers on board they could be overwhelmed, but a single-aisle plane allowed them to hold back their potential adversaries more easily than a dual-aisle plane. This was likely a deliberate choice.
Their targets were chosen because they were well known, not only in America but especially in the Middle East. Their intention in striking the U.S. was not to paralyze it, since that couldn't happen anyway. The attack was directed toward the Muslim world, and therefore the significance of the targets had to be widely recognized. The World Trade Center, the Pentagon and another unconfirmed location were chosen. There has been much discussion of what was the target of the fourth plane. My guess, based on the fact that they picked large, visible targets, would be the Capitol, but whatever it was it seems the hijacking failed after the attackers were overwhelmed by the passengers.
As I said, the intent of the attack was to influence Muslims in the Middle East. Al-Qaida saw many of the governments in the region as betraying Islamic principles. It wanted to trigger uprisings against them. In their view, the populations agreed with their loathing of the regimes but were paralyzed by the view that American power was supporting these regimes. If al-Qaida could demonstrate that American power was an illusion and that Islamic bravery could attack the most important U.S. buildings, these populations might conclude that their own regimes – backed, they believed, by U.S. force – could be overthrown. In other words, the 9/11 attack used the U.S. as a platform to demonstrate American weakness to the Muslim world.
But 9/11 did not bring down the American regime. It did trigger U.S. overt and covert operations that in retrospect had more impact on the region than 9/11 had, garnering criticism from many. But these criticisms must be put in perspective. First, the idea that the U.S. would not act against al-Qaida was impossible. Passive speechmaking wouldn't have been enough of a response politically. The idea that the U.S. could not protect itself had to be countered, even if true. The rage, and fear, of Americans at that moment had to be considered. This was a fundamental reality.
Second, anyone who wasn't frightened in the wake of 9/11 was not in touch with reality. U.S. intelligence on al-Qaida was clearly inadequate, and this meant that we had no reason not to believe that they had far more deadly weapons, perhaps poison gas or even nuclear weapons. A repeat of the 9/11 attack was possible – even likely – in the minds of some analysts. Given that al-Qaida was hoping that the Americans would attack to prove their hostility to the masses, the U.S. leadership was in one of the most complex positions imaginable. The fear in the United States was palpable and rational. I recall being in Washington three days after 9/11 and staying in the Army and Navy Club, about a couple of blocks from the White House. I was unable to sleep and trying to imagine whether I would feel a nuclear strike or my consciousness would simply disappear. It was a time when the worst-case scenario was the only reasonable consideration.
The 9/11 operation was superb. Men who knew they were going to die mapped out and implemented a major covert operation on selected targets while remaining unnoticed by an excellent security system. But operationally impressive work did not result in the political results they dreamed of. There was no uprising, and regimes came and went in the normal cadence. There was no upheaval and no end to history.
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From the archives
Thanks to Dr .Rich and Captain Billy
Billy's perspective on 9/11 ...
Here's the link to our 9/11 story from this day 22 years ago. The most emotional trip I experienced in my 40 year airline career!
https://captainbillywalker.com/from-the-heart/9-11-2001-my-perspective/
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From the archives from Al for his Monday Morning Humor from last year's Hook. Worth the repeat
Monday Morning Humor--'Hook 22 Recap
I just returned from Tailhook '22. This year I shared the experience with two of my sons and two grandsons. The highpoint of the trip was the chance to reunite with friends acquired over the past 54 years. Some of them I see every year and others only once in a great while. Friends like, Ham, Okie, Jamie, Steve, Fingers, Streak, Frito, Pink Panther, Eagle, Dozo, Scar, Pegger, Irish, Sobs, Archie, and many, many more. What a privilege to know these fine people who gave of themselves to serve and support their country.
Also, seeing the younger set who are currently serving was inspiring, I know that they are a credit to the Navy and Marine Corps and are up for the task. Bravo Zulu! Here is a bit of humor dedicated to them.
Submitted by Al Schlegel:
This is from Ace Jewell CDR-USN-ret, now about 88, fighter pilot in three wars and LSO extraordinaire. They don't make them like Ace anymore.
Ace says: "Drones will not ...be late to briefings, start fights at happy hour, destroy clubs, attempt to seduce others' dates, purchase huge watches, insult other Services, sing "O'Leary's Balls," dance on tables, yell "Show us your boobs!!!" or do all of the other things that we know win wars!"
Submitted by Don Mills:
Fighter pilots are steely eyed, weapons systems managers who kill bad people and break things. However, they can also be very charming and personable. The average fighter pilot, despite sometimes having a swaggering exterior, is very much capable of such feelings as love, affection, intimacy, and caring. (However, these feelings don't involve anyone else.)
Submitted by Mike Farlow:
He left home about 8:30 a.m. to do some work in his hangar at the airport with his friends. On the way out the door he answered his wife's "What time will you be home?" question with "Probably about 1:30, I'll have lunch at the airport."
1:30 came and went, 3:00 passed, 6:15, still not home, finally at about 7:00 pm he rolls in the driveway, and presents his wife with a pizza, and begins the apologetic story:
"I finished cleaning the plane about 11:30, had lunch, and I started home, when alongside the road, I saw this attractive girl with a flat tire on her car. I stopped to help, got the tire changed, and looked around for a place to wash my hands. She offered money, but I refused, so she suggested that I at least allow her to buy me a beer. She said there's a tavern just up the road, and they have a restroom, you can clean up a bit. I agreed to stop, we had a beer, then another beer, then a couple more, and I realized that this girl was not only pretty, she was very friendly, and a good companion to spend time with. Before I knew it, we were having a rendezvous in the motel next door. And that is why I am so late getting home."
His wife looked him right in the eye and said, "Don't lie to me; you went flying, didn't you?"
Submitted by Mark Logan:
Early one morning, an elderly retired Navy pilot yelled to his wife, "Honey! Come see what I created! It's an abstract panorama depicting the five years of the Obama presidency!"
She yelled back, "Flush the toilet and come eat your breakfast."
Young boy to his mother, "Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a naval aviator."
Mother to young boy, "Well, you decide, son. You can't do both."
Submitted by Skip Leonard:
I think I've known a million lads,
Who say they love the sky;
Who'd all be aviators,
And not afraid to fly!
For Duty, Honor, Country,
Their courage I admire!
But it takes more than courage, son,
To get to be a flyer.
When you are only twelve years old
Of course you want to fly!
And tho' you know not what is death,
You're not afraid to die.
But of the million, more or less,
All must have perfect eyes;
So only half a million now,
Can dream of future skies.
Then comes high school, science, math;
Some choose the easy way:
Football, cars, and dating girls;
Teen pleasures hold their sway.
And of the quarter million left,
One half go on to schools;
The other half will dream and drift,
And never learn the rules.
Now comes the day of testing,
Eight hours of Stanine hell;
On every subject known to man,
Four- fifths will not do well.
The one in five who pass this test
Apply for flying schools,
The application boards will now
Eliminate the fools.
Then comes two days of nakedness,
Flight surgeons poke and prod;
To pass this flying physical
One needs to be a god!
And now, five hundred lucky souls
Will start their pre-flight days;
Endure demerits, hunger, cold,
As upperclassmen haze.
One- half survive this mental game,
And go to primary schools,
But only half will hack the course,
Move on to Basic rules.
Two hundred fifty now will try
To pass those Basic tests;
Formation flight soon separates,
The " tiger" from the rest.
One hundred twenty five will then
Pin on those pilot wings;
The best become hot fighter jocks;
The rest fly other things.
Some will die while learning those
Essential combat skills;
Some will die in combat,
Some will score their "kills".
But they have learned a lesson,
Sometimes lost on you and me;
We must always fight for Freedom,
Because freedom's never free!
He's a knight in shining armor,
That the cruel tyrants fear;
He's that deadly drop of venom
On the tip of freedom's spear.
Engaging him in battle is a course
That only fools would choose;
He's the world's fiercest warrior,
For he has the most to lose.
So when you see that fighter pilot,
Standing at the bar;
Taking out the garbage,
Or tuning up his car.
You'd best walk up and offer him
Your thanks, extend your hand;
He's that rare "one in a million" who
Protects this sacred land.
Submitted by J.T. Strong:
The Naval Aviator as seen by...
• Himself--An incredibly intelligent, tall, handsome, innovative, and highly trained professional killer, idol to countless females, and gentleman adventurer, who wears a star sapphire ring, carries a hair-trigger .45 automatic in a specially designed hand-stitched, quick draw holster along with his trusty pearl-handle survival knife, who is always on time thanks to his ability to obtain immediate transportation and the reliability of his Rolex watch.
• His Wife--A disreputable member of the family who comes home once a year all bruised up, driving a stolen Government vehicle up to the back door carrying a B-4 bag full of dirty laundry, wearing a stained flight suit, smelling of stale booze and JP-5, wearing a huge watch, a fake ring, and that ugly beat-up pistol in that stupid holster, who will three months later go out the front door, thankfully for another year.
• The Squadron Commander--A fine specimen of a drunken, brawling, car stealing, woman corrupting liar, with a star sapphire ring, fantastically accurate Rolex watch, an unauthorized .45 in a non-regulation shoulder holster, and rusty survival knife.
• Fleet Ops--The embodiment of a drunken, brawling, car stealing, woman corrupting, lying, zipper-suited sun god, with a ring, a proscribed 1911 A1 .45 in a non-regulation shoulder holster, a Rolex watch, who for some reason carries a survival knife.
• The Department of Defense--An overpaid, rule-ignoring, over-ranked tax burden, who is unfortunately totally indispensable simply because he has volunteered to go anywhere, and do anything, at any time, only so long as he can booze it up, brawl, steal cars, corrupt women, lie, and wear a star sapphire ring, Rolex watch, and carry an obsolete hand gun and a survival knife.
• The Enemy--The terrifying face of death!
Yep.......that pretty much sums it up!
Rules of Flight
• Never trade luck for skill.
• The three most common expressions in aviation are, "Why is it doing that?", "Where are we?" and "Oh $#!+".
• Weather forecasts are horoscopes with numbers.
• Airspeed, altitude or brains: two are always needed to successfully complete the flight.
• A smooth landing is mostly luck; two in a row is all luck; three in a row is prevarication.
• We have a perfect record in aviation: we never left one up there!
• If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's probably a helicopter - and unsafe.
• Flashlights are tubular metal containers kept in a flight bag for the purpose of storing dead batteries.
• Navy carrier pilots to Air Force pilots: Flaring is like squatting to pee.
• Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding it.
• When a flight is proceeding incredibly well, something was forgotten. - Robert Livingston, "Flying The Aeronca"
• Just remember, if you crash because of weather, your funeral will be held on a sunny day. - Layton A. Bennett
• Never fly the 'A' model of anything. - Ed Thompson
• When a prang seems inevitable, endeavor to strike the softest, cheapest object in the vicinity, as slowly and gently as possible. - Advice given to RAF pilots during WWII.
• A pilot who doesn't have any fear probably isn't flying his plane to its maximum. - Jon McBride, astronaut
• If you're faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible. - Bob Hoover
• Never fly in the same cockpit with someone braver than you. - Richard Herman, Jr., 'Firebreak'
• The three best things in life are a good landing, a good orgasm, and good bowel movement. The night carrier landing is one of the few opportunities in life to experience all three at the same time. - Unknown
Submitted by Dean Laird:
Old Sailors sit and chew the fat 'bout how things use to be, Of the things they've seen and places they've been, when they ventured out to sea.
They remember friends from long ago and the times they had back then, Of the money they've spilled and the beer they've swilled in their days as sailing men.
Their lives are lived in days gone by, with thoughts that forever last, Of Dixie cup hats and bell bottom blues, and the good times in their past.
They recall long nights with a moon so bright far out on a lonely sea, And thoughts they had as youthful lads, when their lives were unbridled and free.
They know so well how their hearts would swell when the flag fluttered proud and free, And the stars and stripes made such beautiful sights as they plowed through an angry sea.
They talk of the bread Ole Cookie would bake and the shrill of the bo'sun's pipe, And how the salt spray fell like sparks out of hell when a storm struck in the night.
They remember mates already gone who forever hold a spot In the stories of old when sailors were bold and lubbers a pitiful lot.
They rode their ships through many a storm when the sea was showing its might, And the mighty waves might be digging their graves as they sailed on through the night.
They speak of nights in a bawdy house somewhere on a foreign shore, And the beer they'd downed as they gathered around cracking jokes with a busty whore.
Their sailing days are gone away, never more will they cross the brow, But they have no regrets for they know they've been blessed 'cause they honored their sacred vow.
Their numbers grow less with each passing day as their chits in this life are called, But they've nothing to lose for they've paid their dues and they'll sail with their shipmates again.
I've heard them say before getting underway that there is still some sailing to do, And they'll exclaim with a grin that their ship has come in, and the Lord is commanding the crew.
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This Day in U S Military History
September 12
1847 – The Battle of Chapultepec was a United States victory over Mexican forces holding Chapultepec Castle west of Mexico City during the Mexican-American War. The Americans began an artillery barrage against Chapultepec at dawn. It was halted at dark and resumed at first light the next day. At 8 AM, the bombardment was halted and Winfield Scott ordered the infantry attack. There were three assault columns. On the left were the 11th and 14th Infantry under Colonel William Trousdale moving east along the Anzures aqueduct, in the center were four companies of the Voltigeur regiment under Colonel Timothy Patrick Andrews along with the 9th and 15th Infantry moving through the swamp and western edge of the grove, and on the right were the remaining four Voltigeur companies under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph E. Johnston. Pillow was quickly hit in the foot and called for reinforcements, which came from John A. Quitman's division but the attack faltered when fired upon by the Moelia Battalion battery. Andrews's column cleared the grove of Mexican troops and linked up with Johnston. Yet, the attack by the 9th and 15th Infantry stalled waiting for scaling ladders, and Col. Truman B. Ransom was killed. Quitman sent Persifor Smith's brigade to his right and brought in James Shields, plus the New York and 2d Pennsylvania Regiments into the assault. At the same time, Newman S. Clarke's brigade arrived on the western slope, as did the scaling ladders. The Voltigeurs soon planted their flag on the parapet. By 9 AM, General Bravo surrendered to the New York Regiment and the American flag flew over the castle. Santa Anna watched the Americans take Chapultepec while an aide exclaimed "let the Mexican flag never be touched by a foreign enemy". He also exclaimed, "I believe if we were to plant our batteries in Hell the damned Yankees would take them from us."
1918 – The US First Army and the French II Colonial Corps launch a five day attack on the salient at St. Mihiel. It has been held continuously by the Germans since 1914. The advance is led by the First Army's 1 and IV Corps which advance into the southern face of the salient and V Corp, which moves against the west face. The French II Colonial Corps is positioned between the US forces. The attack begins in thick fog and is supported by 600 aircraft commanded by US Colonel William "Billy" Mitchell, a staunch advocate of the value of air power. the attackers are facing nine German divisions in the front line and a further five held in reserve. German resistance collapses on the first day with the US attacks from the south and west linking up at the village of Hattonchatel. By the 16th the entire salient has been reduced.
1942 – The Battle of Edson's Ridge, also known as the Battle of the Bloody Ridge, Battle of Raiders Ridge, and Battle of the Ridge, a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Imperial Japanese Army and Allied (mainly United States Marine Corps) ground forces, begins on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, and was the second of three separate major Japanese ground offensives during the Guadalcanal Campaign. In the battle, U.S. Marines, under the overall command of U.S. Major General Alexander Vandegrift, repulsed an attack by the Japanese 35th Infantry Brigade, under the command of Japanese Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi. The Marines were defending the Lunga perimeter that guarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, which was captured from the Japanese by the Allies in landings on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942. Kawaguchi's unit was sent to Guadalcanal in response to the Allied landings with the mission of recapturing the airfield and driving the Allied forces from the island. Underestimating the strength of Allied forces on Guadalcanal–about 12,000–Kawaguchi's 6,000 soldiers conducted several nighttime frontal assaults on the U.S. defenses. The main Japanese assault occurred around Lunga ridge south of Henderson Field, manned by troops from several U.S. Marine Corps units, primarily troops from the 1st Raider and 1st Parachute Battalions under U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson. Although the Marine defenses were almost overrun, Kawaguchi's attack was ultimately defeated, with heavy losses for the Japanese. Because of the key participation by Edson's unit in defending the ridge, the ridge was commonly referred to as "Edson's" ridge in historical accounts of the battle in Western sources. After Edson's Ridge, the Japanese continued to send troops to Guadalcanal for further attempts to retake Henderson Field, affecting Japanese offensive operations in other areas of the South Pacific.
1972 – U.S. intelligence agencies (the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency) report to the National Security Council that the North Vietnamese have 100,000 regular troops in South Vietnam and can sustain fighting "at the present rate" for two years. The report further stated that while U.S. bombing had caused heavy casualties and prevented North Vietnam from doubling operations, the overall effects were disappointing because troops and supplies had kept moving south. It was estimated that 20,000 fresh troops had infiltrated into the South in the previous six weeks and that communist troops in the Mekong Delta had increased as much as tenfold – up to 30,000 – in the last year. This report was significant in that it showed that the North Vietnamese, who had suffered greatly since launching the Easter invasion on March 31, were steadily replacing their losses and maintaining troop levels in the south. These forces and their presence in South Vietnam were not addressed in the Paris Peace Accords that were signed in January 1973, and the North Vietnamese troops remained. Therefore, shortly after the ceasefire was initiated, new fighting erupted between the South Vietnamese forces and the North Vietnamese troops who remained in the South. The South Vietnamese held out for two years, but when the United States failed to honor the promises of continued support made by President Nixon (who resigned on August 9, 1974, in the wake of the Watergate scandal), the North Vietnamese launched a major offensive and the South Vietnamese were defeated in less than 55 days. Saigon fell on April 30, 1975.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
CLARK, FRANCIS J.
Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K, 109th Infantry, 28th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Kalborn, Luxembourg, 12 September 1944; near Sevenig, Germany, 17 September 1944. Entered service at: Salem, N.Y. Birth: Whitehall, N.Y. G.O. No.: 77, 10 September 1945. Citation: He fought gallantly in Luxembourg and Germany. On 12 September 1944, Company K began fording the Our River near Kalborn, Luxembourg, to take high ground on the opposite bank. Covered by early morning fog, the 3d Platoon, in which T/Sgt. Clark was squad leader, successfully negotiated the crossing; but when the 2d Platoon reached the shore, withering automatic and small-arms fire ripped into it, eliminating the platoon leader and platoon sergeant and pinning down the troops in the open. From his comparatively safe position, T/Sgt. Clark crawled alone across a field through a hail of bullets to the stricken troops. He led the platoon to safety and then unhesitatingly returned into the fire-swept area to rescue a wounded soldier, carrying him to the American line while hostile gunners tried to cut him down. Later, he led his squad and men of the 2d Platoon in dangerous sorties against strong enemy positions to weaken them by lightning-like jabs. He assaulted an enemy machinegun with hand grenades, killing 2 Germans. He roamed the front and flanks, dashing toward hostile weapons, killing and wounding an undetermined number of the enemy, scattering German patrols and, eventually, forcing the withdrawal of a full company of Germans heavily armed with automatic weapons. On 17 September, near Sevenig, Germany, he advanced alone against an enemy machinegun, killed the gunner and forced the assistant to flee. The Germans counterattacked, and heavy casualties were suffered by Company K. Seeing that 2 platoons lacked leadership, T/Sgt. Clark took over their command and moved among the men to give encouragement. Although wounded on the morning of 18 September, he refused to be evacuated and took up a position in a pillbox when night came. Emerging at daybreak, he killed a German soldier setting up a machinegun not more than 5 yards away. When he located another enemy gun, he moved up unobserved and killed 2 Germans with rifle fire. Later that day he voluntarily braved small-arms fire to take food and water to members of an isolated platoon. T/Sgt. Clark's actions in assuming command when leadership was desperately needed, in launching attacks and beating off counterattacks, in aiding his stranded comrades, and in fearlessly facing powerful enemy fire, were strikingly heroic examples and put fighting heart into the hard-pressed men of Company K.
TOMINAC, JOHN J .
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company I, 15th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Saulx de Vesoul, France, 12 September 1944. Entered service at: Conemaugh, Pa. Birth: Conemaugh, Pa. G.O. No.: 20, 29 March 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 12 September 1944, in an attack on Saulx de Vesoul, France 1st Lt. Tominac charged alone over 50 yards of exposed terrain onto an enemy roadblock to dispatch a 3-man crew of German machine gunners with a single burst from his Thompson machinegun after smashing the enemy outpost, he led 1 of his squads in the annihilation of a second hostile group defended by mortar, machinegun automatic pistol, rifle and grenade fire, killing about 30 of the enemy. Reaching the suburbs of the town, he advanced 50 yards ahead of his men to reconnoiter a third enemy position which commanded the road with a 77-mm. SP gun supported by infantry elements. The SP gun opened fire on his supporting tank, setting it afire with a direct hit. A fragment from the same shell painfully wounded 1st Lt. Tominac in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. As the crew abandoned the M-4 tank, which was rolling down hill toward the enemy, 1st Lt. Tominac picked himself up and jumped onto the hull of the burning vehicle. Despite withering enemy machinegun, mortar, pistol, and sniper fire, which was ricocheting off the hull and turret of the M-4, 1st Lt. Tominac climbed to the turret and gripped the 50-caliber antiaircraft machinegun. Plainly silhouetted against the sky, painfully wounded, and with the tank burning beneath his feet, he directed bursts of machinegun fire on the roadblock, the SP gun, and the supporting German infantrymen, and forced the enemy to withdraw from his prepared position. Jumping off the tank before it exploded, 1st Lt. Tominac refused evacuation despite his painful wound. Calling upon a sergeant to extract the shell fragments from his shoulder with a pocketknife, he continued to direct the assault, led his squad in a hand grenade attack against a fortified position occupied by 32 of the enemy armed with machineguns, machine pistols, and rifles, and compelled them to surrender. His outstanding heroism and exemplary leadership resulted in the destruction of 4 successive enemy defensive positions, surrender of a vital sector of the city Saulx de Vesoul, and the death or capture of at least 60 of the enemy.
*ZUSSMAN, RAYMOND
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 756th Tank Battalion. Place and date: Noroy le Bourg, France, 12 September 1944. Entered service at: Detroit, Mich. Birth: Hamtramck, Mich. G.O. No.: 42, 24 May 1945. Citation: On 12 September 1944, 2d Lt. Zussman was in command of 2 tanks operating with an infantry company in the attack on enemy forces occupying the town of Noroy le Bourg, France. At 7 p.m., his command tank bogged down. Throughout the ensuing action, armed only with a carbine, he reconnoitered alone on foot far in advance of his remaining tank and the infantry. Returning only from time to time to designate targets, he directed the action of the tank and turned over to the infantry the numerous German soldiers he had caused to surrender. He located a road block and directed his tanks to destroy it. Fully exposed to fire from enemy positions only 50 yards distant, he stood by his tank directing its fire. Three Germans were killed and 8 surrendered. Again he walked before his tank, leading it against an enemy-held group of houses, machinegun and small arms fire kicking up dust at his feet. The tank fire broke the resistance and 20 enemy surrendered. Going forward again alone he passed an enemy-occupied house from which Germans fired on him and threw grenades in his path. After a brief fire fight, he signaled his tank to come up and fire on the house. Eleven German soldiers were killed and 15 surrendered. Going on alone, he disappeared around a street corner. The fire of his carbine could be heard and in a few minutes he reappeared driving 30 prisoners before him. Under 2d Lt. Zussman's heroic and inspiring leadership, 18 enemy soldiers were killed and 92 captured.
*MAUSERT, FREDERICK W., III
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.) Place and date: Songnap-yong, Korea, 12 September 1951. Entered service at: Dresher, Pa. Born: 2 May 1930, Cambridge, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a squad leader in Company B, in action against enemy aggressor forces. With his company pinned down and suffering heavy casualties under murderous machine gun, rifle, artillery, and mortar fire laid down from heavily fortified, deeply entrenched hostile strongholds on Hill 673, Sgt. Mausert unhesitatingly left his covered position and ran through a heavily mined and fire-swept area to bring back 2 critically wounded men to the comparative safety of the lines. Staunchly refusing evacuation despite a painful head wound sustained during his voluntary act, he insisted on remaining with his squad and, with his platoon ordered into the assault moments later, took the point position and led his men in a furious bayonet charge against the first of a literally impregnable series of bunkers. Stunned and knocked to the ground when another bullet struck his helmet, he regained his feet and resumed his drive, personally silencing the machine gun and leading his men in eliminating several other emplacements in the area. Promptly reorganizing his unit for a renewed fight to the final objective on top of the ridge, Sgt. Mausert boldly left his position when the enemy's fire gained momentum and, making a target of himself, boldly advanced alone into the face of the machine gun, drawing the fire away from his men and enabling them to move into position to assault. Again severely wounded when the enemy's fire found its mark, he still refused aid and continued spearheading the assault to the topmost machine gun nest and bunkers, the last bulwark of the fanatic aggressors. Leaping into the wall of fire, he destroyed another machine gun with grenades before he was mortally wounded by bursting grenades and machine gun fire. Stouthearted and indomitable, Sgt. Mausert, by his fortitude, great personal valor, and extraordinary heroism in the face of almost certain death, had inspired his men to sweep on, overrun and finally secure the objective. His unyielding courage throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for September 12, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
12 September
1918: Through 15 September, Brig Gen William "Billy" Mitchell led 1,481 planes in the St. Mihiel offensive. This was the biggest air armada to date. (21
1918: Lt Frank Luke (17th Aero Squadron) shot down his first balloon. When he died 17 days later, with 18 balloons and airplanes to his credit, he became the first Army aviator to receive the Medal of Honor. Lt Luke's legacy resurfaced in the form of a call sign. During the recent shootdown of a rogue Chinese balloon, the inflight call signs used by the F-22 pilots were "Frank 01 & 02" and "Luke 01 & 02."
1942: The 89th Attack Squadron, 3 BG, dropped the first parachute-retarded bomb in World War II on Buna Airstrip, New Guinea. (24) The Army Air Forces activated the 4 FG at Bushey Hall, England, to escort Eighth Air Force heavy bomber missions over occupied Europe. Three RAF Eagle Squadrons, with American volunteers, then transferred from the RAF on 29 September to the VIII Fighter Command, to man the group. (4) (21)
1947: Boeing rolled out the XB-47 in its Seattle plant. (31)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Through 13 September, 25 B-29s attacked the generator building at the giant Sui-ho power plant. Before and during the attack, B-26s and US Navy planes dropped low-level fragmentation bombs to suppress enemy searchlights, rendering 8 of approximately 30 unserviceable. At the same time, four B-29s orbiting to the east jammed enemy radar. Enemy fighters shot down one medium bomber and flak damaged several others, but the B-29s dropped their bombs on target, again rendering the plant unserviceable. Far East Air Forces concluded that searchlight suppression and electronic countermeasures probably saved the B-29s from greater losses. (28)
1958: Gen Curtis E. LeMay flew a KC-135 Stratotanker from Yokota AB to Washington DC, flying the 7,000 miles in 12 hours 28 minutes for an unofficial record. (24)
1962: The first Titan II equipped with decoys launched successfully from Cape Canaveral. (6)
1966: GEMINI XI. Lt Cmdrs Charles Conrad, Jr., and Richard F. Gordon flew Gemini XI to a new altitude record of 851 miles. They also achieved the first rendezvous and space docking in one orbit of the earth. The mission ended on 15 September after 44 orbits. (9)
1969: Maj Jerauld R. Gentry, AFFTC pilot, won the Harmon International Aviator's Trophy for his 1968 flights in NASA's HL-10 Lifting Body. (3)
1970: The 20 TFW at RAF Upper Heyford received USAFE's first F-111Es. (4)
1971: Through 16 September, three USAF aircraft flew to Nicaragua to provide disaster relief after Hurricane Edith. The aircraft carried food, medical supplies, tents, and a USAF radio jeep to coordinate emergency operations and fuel for rescue helicopters. (16) (26)
1978: Northrop's YF-17 performed a flight demonstration at Langley AFB. (16)
1987: The ANG received its first C-12J turbo-prop transport from Beech Aircraft Corporation in ceremonies at the Beech facility in Wichita.
1988: C-5s, C-141s, and C-130s flew to Kingston, Jamaica, after Hurricane Gilbert devastated the island. MAC flew five more C-5 missions in October to provide humanitarian relief. (18)
1992: TYPHOON INIKI. The storm ran over Kauai, Hawaii, with 130-MPH winds and heavy rain. Through 18 October, AMC flew 259 C-5, C-141, C-130, and KC-135 missions, while the ANG operated another 354 C-130 missions to transport more than 8,600 passengers and 9,200 tons of cargo. (16) (18)
2000: The Boeing RS-68 rocket engine completed qualification testing for the Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards AFB. The testing confirmed the engine's predicted performance. (3)
2002: The CV-22 Osprey resumed flight testing, following a 21-month grounding. The tilt-rotor aircraft, one of two at the AFFTC, flew three sorties for over four flying hours and successfully transitioned into the airplane mode. (3)
2006: Northrop-Grumman rolled out the first RQ-4B Global Hawk "Block 20" UAV. The RQ-4B possessed 3,000-pound payload, compared with the earlier RQ-4A's (Block 10) 2,000-pound payload. Service entry with the 9 RW at Beale AFB was slated for early
2007. (USAF Aimpoints, "Supersized Global Hawk Revealed," 12 Sep 2006)
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Thanks to Shadow
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH
I had a favorite backseater... Larry Shreve... Oklahoma Boy.... Callsign "Oakie".
Larry was as good as they come... Calm, quiet... solid. Flew some of the most
exhilarating... and some of the scariest hops I ever flew... with Larry in the rear cockpit,
backing me up every step of the way. Besides our professional bond... we both loved
John Denver. In fact, Larry looked a lot like John Denver without glasses.
Up until one beautiful Sunday morning... Larryʼs favorite song was "Thank God Iʼm a
Country Boy"... heʼd crack a smile whenever it came on the radio... do a little clogging
move and when the song came to the end... heʼd let out a yell like Denver... kinda like a
cross between a Rebel yell and cowboy yippie up. It was cool... he was cool.
One early January, Sunday morning... Larry and I found ourselves mounting up at
Buckley ANG Base in Denver... planning to do a high, low, high... over to Holloman
AFB... then back to El Toro. Our route of flight would take us over the ski resorts and
then weʼd drop down and do a low level through Monument Valley... then do a pop up
into Holloman.
Donʼt know how others felt... but there was always something special about early
morning flights on a clear winter day... always seemed to me that the air was smoother,
like gliding over a new carpet... and the sky was bluer, almost cobalt blue like the ocean
far out to sea... and the earth was clearer, cleaner... and itʼs colors more vivid and
contrasting.
Combine all this with a magnificent, awesomely powerful steed... like the F-4... on days
like this... it just seemed to act like a newly broken colt that just wanted to run! It was
exhilarating to me and really attuned all my senses. And...Dear God... it was a payback
for every bad thing that every happened... no other feeling like it in the world!
As we got our clearance and taxied to the runway at Buckley... it was surreal... nothing
else was moving on the whole airfield... no sign of life besides the cryptic instructions
from the tower crackling over the radio. We pulled on the runway, did our final checks...
were cleared for takeoff and I smoothly came up on the power, then went into full
afterburner.
It was awesome! Almost like an out of body experience... the big Phantom leaped
forward like a colt out of the gate... raw, unbridled power... She wanted to run... and I let
her go. The runway at Buckley had a little hump in it near the middle... on a hot day,
youʼd get a bump airborne and then settle back on the runway... on this day... and days
like it... it was just a smooth transition to flight... no settling, just a nice little lift. The
Phantom never missed a beat and just accelerated at a higher than normal rate, which
was in itself... incredible. It also inspired me to even more smoothness in the cockpit
than normal... as I raised the gear and flaps... trimmed everything out and made a
smooth transition on course... while Larry switched over to departure control.
Departure switched us over to Center as weʼre approaching the snow capped Rockies...
as we checked in... the controller comes up and says, "Good morning Romeo Foxtrot...
Howʻs the view up there today"? Larry and I were of one mind... He keyed the radio and
we both said, "Rocky Mountain High"!
Just then we were going over one of the ski resorts... it had snowed the night before
and the very first skiers of the day were starting their run... it was damn near one of the
most beautiful sights Iʼve ever seen... hard to describe it... so fluid and graceful... like
the magnificent machine we were in... I banked slightly so Larry had a better view and in
my headset I heard John Denver....
He was borne in the summer of his 27th year
Cominʻ home to a place heʼd never been before
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door.... Rocky Mountain High
If ever there was a perfect moment... this was it! That Denver Center Controller... picked
the perfect time and perfect place to break all the rules and give Larry and me one of
the greatest little memories weʼd have in two very full lives.
The music abruptly ended and we both yelled for more... but the controller apologized
and said heʼd already pressed his luck... but he felt the same way we did on his way into
work... just had to share it.
We continued on with our flight and everything about it was inspiring... we weaved
gracefully around the vertical spires of Monument Valley and flew up the painted desert
floor... as we popped up to divert into Holloman... we talked about what an incredible
day and experience we had just had.... Not many human beings will ever experience
such a sight, such a day... such a vivid demonstration of Godʼs handiwork. Iʼll never
forget it.
When I got home and tried to explain to the wife what we did and what weʼd seen... I
could see the vacant eyes and realize she couldnʼt ever understand.... You just had to
have been there if you werenʼt an aviator to fully appreciate it... another pilot would
understand for they too have seen and experienced what others never will... not a put
down, just a fact.
In my later years... Iʼve often reflected if ever there was one song that summed up my
love of flying... Rocky Mountain High was it. Each and every verse held a double
meaning or analogy if you will...
When he first came to the mountains his life was far away
On the road and hanginʼ by a song
But the strings already broken and he doesnʼt really care
It keeps changinʼ fast and it donʼt last for long
But the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
Iʼve seen it rainʼ fire in the sky
The shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullabye
Rocky Mountain High
He climbed the cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below
He saw everything as far as you can see
And they say he got crazy once and tried to touch the sun
And he lost a friend... but kept his memory
Now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake
Rocky Mountain High...
Friends... weʼve lived it! We are the fortunate ones.
Shadow
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