To All,
Good Saturday Morning September 13. 2024. A bit late this morning. Yesterday had high entertainment value, The chickens need food and more water. The crew filled up two large dump truck loads and cleaned up the bottom yard and some of the top part. The workout equipment got moved to the Gazebo after I power washed it. That makes that part of the house available for the new windows and sliding glass doors ready that are to be installed. It also is the start of moving everything away from the house as it needs to be painted before the rains start. I had to run to the bank to clear up a problem and as I drove away I noticed the garage door stopped and then went back up so I called the boss and told her to PLEASE take care of it. She ran into a problem and called the garage door fixer. When I got home he was replacing all the equipment including the main drive rod and the two killer springs and othe stuff. My wife said to go check out what was in the covered boxes on the drive way. Inside was a large rat. When the failure happened it wrapped the heavy gauge wire around it and the garage equipment became a 900 dollar rat trap. BTW the young man who did the work was reserve IDF and been called home after the October 7 mess and fought there until just a couple of week ago. Interesting young man to talk to and lean and very strong. Today the pool guy comes to install the new pool heater. Not like your standard hair dryer in cost or installation. I am almost afraid to touch anything in case I brake it. Hope your day was/is nothing like Mine
. 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
Today in Naval and Marine Corps History Thanks to NHHC
September. 14
1814 During the War of 1812, the sloop-of-war, Wasp captures and burns the British merchant brig, HMS Bacchus, in the Atlantic. A week later, she captures the brig, Atlanta.
1899 During the Philippine Insurrection Campaign, the gunboat, USS Concord, and the monitor, US Monterey, capture two insurgent schooners at Aparri, Philippine Islands.
1944 USS Ludlow (DD 438) fires at an enemy shore battery and also fires direct hits on enemy vessels off Imperia.
1952 USS Lewis (DE 535) and USS Evansville (PF 70) are fired on by enemy shore batteries off Wonsan, Korea. Their counter-batteries silence the enemy guns.
1971 USS Wiltsie (DD 716) spots a crippled A-7 Corsair plunging into the Gulf of Tonkin and rescues the pilot from the water.
1976 While conducting nighttime underway replenishments off Scotland, USS Bordelon (DD 881) loses control and collides with USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67). Though suffering extensive superstructure damage with six men injured, USS Bordelon continues under her own power.
1991 USS Hue City (CG 66) is commissioned at Pascagoula, MS. The 20th of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers, Hue City is the first ship named after a battle of the Vietnam War.
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Today in World History: September 14
1146 Zangi of the Near East is murdered. The Sultan Nur ad-Din, his son, pursues the conquest of Edessa.
1321 Dante Alighieri dies of malaria just hours after finishing writing Paradiso.
1544 Henry VIII's forces take Boulogne, France.
1773 Russian forces under Aleksandr Suvorov successfully storm a Turkish fort at Hirsov, Turkey.
1791 Louis XVI swears his allegiance to the French constitution.
1812 Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Russia reaches its climax as his Grande Armee enters Moscow--only to find the enemy capital deserted and burning, set afire by the few Russians who remained.
1814 Francis Scott Key writes the words to the "Star Spangled Banner" as he waits aboard a British launch in the Chesapeake Bay for the outcome of the British assault on Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.
1847 U.S. forces under Gen. Winfield Scott capture Mexico City, virtually bringing the two-year Mexican War to a close.
1853 The Allies land at Eupatoria on the west coast of Crimea.
1862 At the battles of South Mountain and Crampton's Gap, Maryland Union troops smash into the Confederates as they close in on what will become the Antietam battleground.
1901 Vice President Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in as the 26th President of the United States upon the death of William McKinley, who was shot eight days earlier.
1911 Russian Premier Pyotr Stolypin is mortally wounded in an assassination attempt at the Kiev opera house.
1943 German troops abandon the Salerno front in Italy..
1960 Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia form OPEC.
1966 Operation Attleboro, designed as a training exercise for American troops, becomes a month-long struggle against the Viet Cong.
1975 Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton becomes the first native-born American saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
1979 Nur Muhammad Taraki, president and former prime minister of Afghanistan, is assassinated in a coup in which prime minister Hafizullah Amin seizes power.
1982 Bachir Gemayel, president-elect of Lebanon, is killed along with 26 others in a bomb blast in Beirut.
1984 Joe Kittinger, a former USAF fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, becomes the first person to pilot a gas balloon solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
1994 Major League Baseball players strike over a salary cap and other proposed changes, forcing the cancellation of the entire postseason and the World Series.
2007 Northern Rock Bank suffers the UK's first bank run in 150 years
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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 14 September
14-Sep: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1945
Vietnam Air Losses
Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info
https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
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Thanks to History Facts
Four days of the week are named after Norse gods.
Each week, whether we know it or not, we pay a small tribute to several gods from the ancient Norse pantheon. In fact, four days of the week are named after deities from Norse mythology. Tuesday comes from Tyr, the Norse god of war, while Wednesday is named after Odin , a powerful deity who was the father of many other Norse gods and ruled over Valhalla, the hall of slain warriors (the name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "Wodnesdaeg," meaning "Woden's day"). Thursday's namesake is Thor, the Norse god of Thunder, and Friday is named for Frigg, the wife of Odin and the Norse goddess of marriage and fertility.
The presence of Norse mythology in our days of the week is due to the historical connection between the English and Old Norse languages. In the eighth century CE, the British Isles were invaded by Viking tribes from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, all of whom spoke Old Norse. As a result, many words in the English language are descended from Old Norse. The Vikings adopted the Roman custom of naming the days of the week after gods, but replaced the Latin deities with gods from their own mythology. The Old Norse names of Tyr, Odin, Thor, and Frigg evolved over time to become the weekdays we use in modern English today.
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The earliest libraries didn't have books
Thanks to Interesting Facts
September 14, 2024
Libraries predate books.
While books are a fixture of today's libraries, humans long constructed great centers of learning without them. That includes one of the oldest known significant libraries in history: the Library of Ashurbanipal. This library, established in modern-day Mosul, Iraq, by the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal in the seventh century BCE, contained nothing we would recognize today as a book. Instead, it was a repository of 30,000 clay tablets and writing boards covered in cuneiform — the oldest writing system in the world. Much like your local public library, this royal collection covered a variety of subjects, including legislation, financial statements, divination, hymns, medicine, literature, and astronomy.
While we know when this library flourished, defining the appearance of the earliest book is slightly murkier. The Egyptians, for example, are known to have written on papyrus scrolls; when the Library of Alexandria in Egypt burned in the first century BCE, 40,000 priceless scrolls were lost. By about the second century CE, Romans began using bound codexes, a kind of proto-book that consisted of papyrus or parchment sheets between wooden covers. The arrival of Christianity made the codex immensely popular, and it basically replaced the scroll by the sixth century CE. Block-printed books showed up in China around 700 CE, although Europe didn't see anything similar until Johannes Gutenberg invented mechanical movable type around 1448. So while libraries haven't always housed books, they have been repositories of human knowledge — in whatever form it might take.
The Chinese invented paper.
While we know when this library flourished, defining the appearance of the earliest book is slightly murkier. The Egyptians, for example, are known to have written on papyrus scrolls; when the Library of Alexandria in Egypt burned in the first century BCE, 40,000 priceless scrolls were lost. By about the second century CE, Romans began using bound codexes, a kind of proto-book that consisted of papyrus or parchment sheets between wooden covers. The arrival of Christianity made the codex immensely popular, and it basically replaced the scroll by the sixth century CE. Block-printed books showed up in China around 700 CE, although Europe didn't see anything similar until Johannes Gutenberg invented mechanical movable type around 1448. So while libraries haven't always housed books, they have been repositories of human knowledge — in whatever form it might take
The oldest surviving literary work is thought to be "The Epic of Gilgamesh," composed 4,000 years ago.
Numbers Don't Lie
Number of items in the Library of Congress
173 million
Size (in square feet) of Portland, Oregon's Powell's Books, the largest bookstore in the world
68,000
Year William Caxton published "The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye," the first book printed in English
1473
Number of characters in Marcel Proust's novel "À la recherche du temps perdu," the world's longest novel
9,609,000
The Library of Congress has burned twice.
The U.S. Library of Congress contains the largest collection of published books in world history — but it wasn't an easy journey getting there. During the War of 1812, the British set fire to the Capitol building, which contained the 3,000-volume Library of Congress. It was completely consumed in the conflagration. To reestablish the library, Congress purchased former President Thomas Jefferson's book collection — the largest in the U.S. at the time — for $23,950. Sadly, a second fire, on Christmas Eve 1851, consumed a large portion of that library, including many of Jefferson's original volumes. Two years later, Congress constructed a new library, this time made from flame-resistant cast iron.
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This Day in U S Military History…….14 September
1872 – Britain paid US $15 million for damages during Civil War. The British government paid £3 million in damages to the United States in compensation for building the Confederate commerce-raider Alabama. The confederate navy's Alabama was built at the Birkenhead shipyards. Despite its official neutrality during the American Civil War, Britain allowed the warship to leave port, and it subsequently played havoc with Federal shipping. The U.S. claimed compensation, and a Court of Arbitration at Geneva agreed, setting the amount at £3 million.
1939 – In the 1930s Igor Sikorsky (d.1972) turned his attention again to helicopter design and on this day flew the VS-300 on its first test flight. Sikorsky, scientist, engineer, pilot and businessman, was a pioneer in aircraft design who is best known for his successful development of the helicopter. He was fascinated with flight even as a child in Russia, and a 1908 meeting with the Wright brothers determined the course of his life in aviation. After two early helicopter designs failed, Sikorsky turned his attention to fixed-wing aircraft. By 1913 he had developed the Il'ya Muromets, four-engine passenger aircraft that were converted to bombers for use in WWI. The Bolshevik Revolution forced Sikorsky and his family to emigrate to America in 1919 where he established the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation in New York. Over the next 20 years, Sikorsky's company built passenger planes and flying boats, including the S-40 American Clipper that was used to open new air routes across the Pacific.
1944 – U.S. 1st Marine Division lands on the island of Peleliu, one of the Palau Islands in the Pacific, as part of a larger operation to provide support for Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who was preparing to invade the Philippines. The cost in American lives would prove historic. The Palaus, part of the Caroline Islands, were among the mandated islands taken from Germany and given to Japan as one of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles at the close of World War I. The U.S. military lacked familiarity with the islands, and Adm. William Halsey argued against Operation Stalemate, which included the Army invasion of Morotai in the Dutch East Indies, believing that MacArthur would meet minimal resistance in the Philippines, therefore making this operation unnecessary, especially given the risks involved. Peleliu was subject to pre-invasion bombardment, but it proved of little consequence. The Japanese defenders of the island were buried too deep in the jungle, and the target intelligence given the Americans was faulty. Upon landing, the Marines met little immediate resistance-but that was a ploy. Shortly thereafter, Japanese machine guns opened fire, knocking out more than two dozen landing craft. Japanese tanks and troops followed, as the startled 1st and 5th Marine regiments fought for their lives. Jungle caves disgorged even more Japanese soldiers. Within one week of the invasion, the Marines lost 4,000 men. By the time it was all over, that number would surpass 9,000. The Japanese lost more than 13,000 men. Flamethrowers and bombs finally subdued the island for the Americans-but it all proved pointless. MacArthur invaded the Philippines without need of Army or Marine protection from either Peleliu or Morotai.
2001 – Pres. Bush declared a national emergency and summoned as many as 50,000 military reservists. Congress authorizes President George W. Bush to use "all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons." The number of hijackers involved in the Sep 11 attacks was raised from 18 to 19 and their names were made public.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
SCHROEDER, HENRY F.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company L, 16th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Carig, Philippine Islands, 14 September 1900. Entered service at: Chicago, Ill. Birth: Chicago, Ill. Date of issue: 10 March 1902. Citation: With 22 men defeated 400 insurgents, killing 36 and wounding 90.
MILES, L. WARDLAW
Rank and organization. Captain, U.S. Army, 308th Infantry, 77th Division. Place and date: Near Revillon, France, 14 September 1918. Entered service at: Princeton, N.J. Born: 23 March 1873, Baltimore, Md. G.O. No.: 44, W.D., 1919. Citation: Volunteered to lead his company in a hazardous attack on a commanding trench position near the Aisne Canal, which other troops had previously attempted to take without success. His company immediately met with intense machinegun fire, against which it had no artillery assistance, but Capt. Miles preceded the first wave and assisted in cutting a passage through the enemy's wire entanglements. In so doing he was wounded 5 times by machinegun bullets, both legs and 1 arm being fractured, whereupon he ordered himself placed on a stretcher and had himself carried forward to the enemy trench in order that he might encourage and direct his company, which by this time had suffered numerous casualties. Under the inspiration of this officer's indomitable spirit his men held the hostile position and consolidated the front line after an action lasting 2 hours, at the conclusion of which Capt. Miles was carried to the aid station against his will.
EDSON, MERRITT AUSTIN
Rank and organization: Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 25 April 1897, Rutland, Vt. Appointed from: Vermont. Other Navy awards: Navy Cross with Gold Star, Silver Star Medal, Legion of Merit with Gold Star. Citation: For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion, with Parachute Battalion attached, during action against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands on the night of 13-14 September 1942. After the airfield on Guadalcanal had been seized from the enemy on 8 August, Col. Edson, with a force of 800 men, was assigned to the occupation and defense of a ridge dominating the jungle on either side of the airport. Facing a formidable Japanese attack which, augmented by infiltration, had crashed through our front lines, he, by skillful handling of his troops, successfully withdrew his forward units to a reserve line with minimum casualties. When the enemy, in a subsequent series of violent assaults, engaged our force in desperate hand-to-hand combat with bayonets, rifles, pistols, grenades, and knives, Col. Edson, although continuously exposed to hostile fire throughout the night, personally directed defense of the reserve position against a fanatical foe of greatly superior numbers. By his astute leadership and gallant devotion to duty, he enabled his men, despite severe losses, to cling tenaciously to their position on the vital ridge, thereby retaining command not only of the Guadalcanal airfield, but also of the 1st Division's entire offensive installations in the surrounding area.
*KEATHLEY, GEORGE D.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, 85th Infantry Division. Place and date: Mt. Altuzzo, Italy, 14 September 1944. Entered service at: Lamesa, Tex. Birth: Olney, Tex. G.O. No.: 20, 29 March 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, in action on the western ridge of Mount Altuzzo, Italy. After bitter fighting his company had advanced to within 50 yards of the objective, where it was held up due to intense enemy sniper, automatic, small arms, and mortar fire. The enemy launched 3 desperate counterattacks in an effort to regain their former positions, but all 3 were repulsed with heavy casualties on both sides. All officers and noncommissioned officers of the 2d and 3d platoons of Company B had become casualties, and S/Sgt. Keathley, guide of the 1st platoon, moved up and assumed command of both the 2d and 3d platoons, reduced to 20 men. The remnants of the 2 platoons were dangerously low on ammunition, so S/Sgt. Keathley, under deadly small arms and mortar fire, crawled from 1 casualty to another, collecting their ammunition and administering first aid. He then visited each man of his 2 platoons, issuing the precious ammunition he had collected from the dead and wounded, and giving them words of encouragement. The enemy now delivered their fourth counterattack, which was approximately 2 companies in strength. In a furious charge they attacked from the front and both flanks, throwing hand grenades, firing automatic weapons, and assisted by a terrific mortar barrage. So strong was the enemy counterattack that the company was given up for lost. The remnants of the 2d and 3d platoons of Company B were now looking to S/Sgt. Keathley for leadership. He shouted his orders precisely and with determination and the men responded with all that was in them. Time after time the enemy tried to drive a wedge into S/Sgt. Keathley's position and each time they were driven back, suffering huge casualties. Suddenly an enemy hand grenade hit and exploded near S/Sgt. Keathley, inflicting a mortal wound in his left side. However, hurling defiance at the enemy, he rose to his feet. Taking his left hand away from his wound and using it to steady his rifle, he fired and killed an attacking enemy soldier, and continued shouting orders to his men. His heroic and intrepid action so inspired his men that they fought with incomparable determination and viciousness. For 15 minutes S/Sgt. Keathley continued leading his men and effectively firing his rifle. He could have sought a sheltered spot and perhaps saved his life, but instead he elected to set an example for his men and make every possible effort to hold his position. Finally, friendly artillery fire helped to force the enemy to withdraw, leaving behind many of their number either dead or seriously wounded. S/Sgt. Keathley died a few moments later. Had it not been for his indomitable courage and incomparable heroism, the remnants of 3 rifle platoons of Company B might well have been annihilated by the overwhelming enemy attacking force. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.
*LLOYD, EDGAR H.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company E, 319th Infantry, 80th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Pompey, France, 14 September 1944. Entered service at: Blytheville, Ark. Birth: Blytheville, Ark. G.O. No.: 25, 7 April 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On 14 September 1944, Company E, 319th Infantry, with which 1st Lt. Lloyd was serving as a rifle platoon leader, was assigned the mission of expelling an estimated enemy force of 200 men from a heavily fortified position near Pompey, France. As the attack progressed, 1st Lt. Lloyd's platoon advanced to within 50 yards of the enemy position where they were caught in a withering machinegun and rifle crossfire which inflicted heavy casualties and momentarily disorganized the platoon. With complete disregard for his own safety, 1st Lt. Lloyd leaped to his feet and led his men on a run into the raking fire, shouting encouragement to them. He jumped into the first enemy machinegun position, knocked out the gunner with his fist, dropped a grenade, and jumped out before it exploded. Still shouting encouragement he went from 1 machinegun nest to another, pinning the enemy down with submachine gun fire until he was within throwing distance, and then destroyed them with hand grenades. He personally destroyed 5 machineguns and many of the enemy, and by his daring leadership and conspicuous bravery inspired his men to overrun the enemy positions and accomplish the objective in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. His audacious determination and courageous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States.
*SADOWSKI, JOSEPH J.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division. Place and date: Valhey, France, 14 September 1944. Entered service at: Perth Amboy, N.J. Birth: Perth Amboy, N.J. C o. No.: 32, 23 April 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty at Valhey, France. On the afternoon of 14 September 1944, Sgt. Sadowski as a tank commander was advancing with the leading elements of Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division, through an intensely severe barrage of enemy fire from the streets and buildings of the town of Valhey. As Sgt. Sadowski's tank advanced through the hail of fire, it was struck by a shell from an 88-mm. gun fired at a range of 20 yards. The tank was disabled and burst into flames. The suddenness of the enemy attack caused confusion and hesitation among the crews of the remaining tanks of our forces. Sgt. Sadowski immediately ordered his crew to dismount and take cover in the adjoining buildings. After his crew had dismounted, Sgt. Sadowski discovered that 1 member of the crew, the bow gunner, had been unable to leave the tank. Although the tank was being subjected to a withering hail of enemy small-arms, bazooka, grenade, and mortar fire from the streets and from the windows of adjacent buildings, Sgt. Sadowski unhesitatingly returned to his tank and endeavored to pry up the bow gunner's hatch. While engaged in this attempt to rescue his comrade from the burning tank, he was cut down by a stream of machinegun fire which resulted in his death. The gallant and noble sacrifice of his life in the aid of his comrade, undertaken in the face of almost certain death, so inspired the remainder of the tank crews that they pressed forward with great ferocity and completely destroyed the enemy forces in this town without further loss to themselves. The heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Sgt. Sadowski, which resulted in his death, inspired the remainder of his force to press forward to victory, and reflect the highest tradition of the armed forces.
*WIGLE, THOMAS W.
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company K, 135th Infantry, 34th Infantry Division. Place and date: Monte Frassino, Italy, 14 September 1944. Entered service at: Detroit, Mich. Birth: Indianapolis, Ind. G.O. No.: 8, 7 February 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in the vicinity of Monte Frassino, Italy. The 3d Platoon, in attempting to seize a strongly fortified hill position protected by 3 parallel high terraced stone walls, was twice thrown back by the withering crossfire. 2d Lt. Wigle, acting company executive, observing that the platoon was without an officer, volunteered to command it on the next attack. Leading his men up the bare, rocky slopes through intense and concentrated fire, he succeeded in reaching the first of the stone walls. Having himself boosted to the top and perching there in full view of the enemy, he drew and returned their fire while his men helped each other up and over. Following the same method, he successfully negotiated the second. Upon reaching the top of the third wall, he faced 3 houses which were the key point of the enemy defense. Ordering his men to cover him, he made a dash through a hail of machine-pistol fire to reach the nearest house. Firing his carbine as he entered, he drove the enemy before him out of the back door and into the second house. Following closely on the heels of the foe, he drove them from this house into the third where they took refuge in the cellar. When his men rejoined him, they found him mortally wounded on the cellar stairs which he had started to descend to force the surrender of the enemy. His heroic action resulted in the capture of 36 German soldiers and the seizure of the strongpoint.
*GOMEZ, EDWARD
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Reserve, Company E, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Korea, Hill 749, 14 September 1951. Entered service at: Omaha, Nebr. Born: 10 August 1932, Omaha, Nebr. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an ammunition bearer in Company E, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Bolding advancing with his squad in support of a group of riflemen assaulting a series of strongly fortified and bitterly defended hostile positions on Hill 749, Pfc. Gomez consistently exposed himself to the withering barrage to keep his machine gun supplied with ammunition during the drive forward to seize the objective. As his squad deployed to meet an imminent counterattack, he voluntarily moved down an abandoned trench to search for a new location for the gun and, when a hostile grenade landed between himself and his weapon, shouted a warning to those around him as he grasped the activated charge in his hand. Determined to save his comrades, he unhesitatingly chose to sacrifice himself and, diving into the ditch with the deadly missile, absorbed the shattering violence of the explosion in his body. By his stouthearted courage, incomparable valor, and decisive spirit of self-sacrifice, Pfc. Gomez inspired the others to heroic efforts in subsequently repelling the outnumbering foe, and his valiant conduct throughout sustained and enhanced the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
*WALMSLEY, JOHN S., JR.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Air Force, 8th Bombardment Squadron, 3d Bomb Group. Place and date: Near Yangdok, Korea, 14 September 1951. Entered service at: Baltimore, Md. Born. 7 January 1920, Baltimore, Md. Citation: Capt. Walmsley, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While flying a B-26 aircraft on a night combat mission with the objective of developing new tactics, Capt. Walmsley sighted an enemy supply train which had been assigned top priority as a target of opportunity. He immediately attacked, producing a strike which disabled the train, and, when his ammunition was expended, radioed for friendly aircraft in the area to complete destruction of the target. Employing the searchlight mounted on his aircraft, he guided another B-26 aircraft to the target area, meanwhile constantly exposing himself to enemy fire. Directing an incoming B-26 pilot, he twice boldly aligned himself with the target, his searchlight illuminating the area, in a determined effort to give the attacking aircraft full visibility. As the friendly aircraft prepared for the attack, Capt. Walmsley descended into the valley in a low level run over the target with searchlight blazing, selflessly exposing himself to vicious enemy antiaircraft fire. In his determination to inflict maximum damage on the enemy, he refused to employ evasive tactics and valiantly pressed forward straight through an intense barrage, thus insuring complete destruction of the enemy's vitally needed war cargo. While he courageously pressed his attack Capt. Walmsley's plane was hit and crashed into the surrounding mountains, exploding upon impact. His heroic initiative and daring aggressiveness in completing this important mission in the face of overwhelming opposition and at the risk of his life, reflects the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Air Force.
*SKIDGEL, DONALD SIDNEY
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Troop D, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. Place and date: Near Song Be, Republic of Vietnam, 14 September 1969. Entered service at: Bangor, Maine. Born: 13 October 1948, Caribou, Maine. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Skidgel distinguished himself while serving as a reconnaissance section leader in Troop D. On a road near Song Be in Binh Long Province, Sgt. Skidgel and his section with other elements of his troop were acting as a convoy security and screening force when contact occurred with an estimated enemy battalion concealed in tall grass and in bunkers bordering the road. Sgt.Skidgel maneuvered off the road and began placing effective machinegun fire on the enemy automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade positions. After silencing at least 1 position, he ran with his machinegun across 60 meters of bullet-swept ground to another location from which he continued to rake the enemy positions. Running low on ammunition, he returned to his vehicle over the same terrain. Moments later he was alerted that the command element was receiving intense automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenade and mortar fire. Although he knew the road was saturated with enemy fire, Sgt. Skidgel calmly mounted his vehicle and with his driver advanced toward the command group in an effort to draw the enemy fire onto himself. Despite the hostile fire concentrated on him, he succeeded in silencing several enemy positions with his machinegun. Moments later Sgt. Skidgel was knocked down onto the rear fender by the explosion of an enemy rocket-propelled grenade. Ignoring his extremely painful wounds, he staggered back to his feet and placed effective fire on several other enemy positions until he was mortally wounded by hostile small arms fire. His selfless actions enabled the command group to withdraw to a better position without casualties and inspired the rest of his fellow soldiers to gain fire superiority and defeat the enemy. Sgt. Skidgel's gallantry at the cost of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for September 14 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
14 September
1922: Maj H. A. Strauss commanded the first transcontinental airship flight in the nonrigid C-2 from Langley Field to Foss Field in Arcadia, Calif. (24)
1936: Harry Richman and Henry T. (Dick) Merrill started their return transatlantic round trip flight between London, England, and New York. (9)
1939: Igor Sikorsky made the first successful helicopter flight. The first flight was made while the VS300 was tethered to the ground. (18)
1944: Col Floyd B. Wood, Maj Harry Wexler, and Lt Frank Recford made the first flight into a hurricane to collect scientific data in a Douglas A-20. (21)
1951: Capt John S. Walmsley, Jr., died while illuminating an enemy supply train with his searchlight-equipped B-26 Invader. Walmsley's aircraft spotted a Chinese supply train moving by cover of darkness. He attacked it until he expended his ammunition. He then used a spotlight on his aircraft to illuminate the train for subsequent attacks, exposing himself and his crew to intense anti-aircraft fire, which he did not avoid. The mission resulted in the successful destruction of the train, and Walmsley was killed when his heavily damaged aircraft crashed. For his actions, he received the Medal of Honor.
(21) (28)
1962: The 498th Tactical Missile Group on Okinawa, equipped with Mace missiles, reached full strength. (17)
1964: President Johnson gave Harmon International Trophies for 1963 to Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper for his Mercury flight in Faith 7; Betty Miller for a first eastward transpacific solo flight by a woman; and Lt Col Fitzhugh L. Fulton for flying a B-58 Hustler to 85,318 feet with an 11,000 pound plus payload. (5) (16)
1971: From Can Ranh Bay AB, Vietnam, 15 USAF C-7 Caribou aircraft began a 10-day, 8,000-mile return flight to McClellan AFB. While in SEA, the transport aircraft flew missions from unimproved airstrips to provide fresh food and supplies to inaccessible outposts. (16) (26)
1981: PACAF's first F-16 Fighting Falcons arrived at Kunsan AB, South Korea. (16) (26)
1987: SAC decommissioned its last ground control approach radar system (FPN-16) at Grissom AFB, Ind.
1995: Through 30 September, airlifters moved more than 30 tons of medical supplies from Charleston AFB to Hanoi, Vietnam, in the first humanitarian airlift to that country since the war ended in 1975. (16)
1997: Exercise CENTRAZBAT 97. Eight C-17 Globemaster IIIs airdropped 500 members of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg into Kazakhstan. This operation covered 7,897 miles, the longest distance ever in an airdrop, to support the two-phase US Atlantic Command exercise for US and Central Asian troops in the former Soviet Union. The C-17s were airborne for over 19 hours as they crossed the Atlantic and southern Europe to the drop zone. KC-10 Extenders from the 60 AMW at Travis AFB and the 305 AMW at McGuire AFB, and KC-135 Stratotankers from the 22 AREFW at McConnell AFB and the 6 AREFW at MacDill AFB provided refueling support. (22)
1999: HURRICANE FLOYD. The storm hit the eastern US coast from the Carolinas to Maine, causing some 57 deaths and about $6 billion dollars in damages. Through 18 September, the ANG joined their Army counterparts in relief operations. In North Carolina, the ANG flew 33,000 cases of food rations in three C-130s to flood victims. Additionally, New Jersey ANG members assisted Army Guardsmen in sand-bagging operations, reinforcing a flood-weakened dam, and delivering supplies to storm victims. (32)
2001: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld requested and President George W. Bush approved an order to call as many as 50,000 reservists and guardsmen to active duty to provide port operations, medical support, engineering support, general civil support, and homeland defense. The USAF contributed 13,000 of the 50,000 people. (32) Congress authorized use of the U.S. armed forces against the terrorists involved in the 11 September 2001 attacks and against any nation harboring them. (32)
2005: At Creech AFB (formerly Indian Springs), Nev., the USAF started operational testing on the latest upgrade to the MQ-1 Predator. The Multi-Aircraft Control (MAC) system allowed single pilots to control two-ship and four-ship Predator sorties. Testers performed two-ship sorties 12- 13 September and four-ship sorties on 14-15 September. (AFNEWS Article, "Predators Fly First Four-Ship Sorties," 26 September 2005) NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards AFB completed Pathfinder Plus solarpowered research aircraft's final flight. The flying wing UAV flew a 2.5 hour sortie over Rogers Dry Lake to study the effects of turbulence on lightweight flexible wing structures. (3)
2006: The CSAF, Gen T. Michael Moseley, selected the name "Reaper" for the new MQ-9 hunterkiller UAV. The larger, more powerful version of the MQ-1 Predator was designed to go after time-sensitive targets with 500-pound bombs and Hellfire missiles. (AFNEWS Article, "Reaper Moniker Given to MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle," 14 Sep 2006)
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Shadow 3 of 7
THE PUKING CINDERELLA
There's only one time in my life that I intentionally tried to scare someone or make them
sick in an airplane. This is the story of that flight.
Back in the day… between workups for deck time… our squadron went on a month long
deployment to Yuma, Arizona , followed by an ORE.
My secondary job; the one that took the most of my time, was as the Assistant
Maintenance Officer for the squadron… We had a lot of planning and preparing to do and
I hardly got in the cockpit for a couple of weeks before the deployment. I was working
my butt off and spending about 12 hours a day at the squadron… I was looking forward
to lots of good flying during the deployment period. It was to be high intensity; around
the clock operations… and it was to be on a simulated combat scenario.
Now this would put a lot of pressure on the troops to keep the aircraft flying at all hours
of the day and night… and the Skipper had set the goal of breaking the "flight time"
record for the deployment period for any Phantom squadron in the group.
When you worked with the troops on a daily basis… you became aware of a lot of things
the rest of the officers did not… Such things as fatigue, morale and alertness of the
worker bees. I was always on the look out for signs of trouble. Our guys were already
exhausted from back to back carrier quals. We did most of our "bouncing" (prep and
practice) at night and still tried to fly a normal flight schedule in the day time. The troops
were running ragged.
I felt we needed a motivator. Since I loved flying and I felt most of the troops would
jump at the chance… I suggested we do a lottery to fly some of the guys at the end of the
deployment as a "thank you" for a job well done. I went to the Skipper to get his
permission to post a signup sheet on the bulletin board for anyone that wanted a chance to
fly in the Phantom. The Skipper was squeamish… but conceded that if we broke the
record… he'd go along with it. I posted the letter that day.
It turned out to be a great deployment… we broke the record in just three weeks time!
The troops had stepped up to the plate… the aircrews had done their part and all was
good in Mudville. I was in Maintenance Control and we had brought the list down with
us… I was surprised to see we only had nine takers for an opportunity to go for a ride.
But on the upside, the troops were talking about it on a daily basis… it had been a morale
booster.
The day we broke the record, we had a little "beer bust" for the troops and one of the
more colorful Plane Captains we had… comes over and stands in front of me… he
spreads his legs and gives me the "Sting" salute that Paul Newman and Robert Redford
had used in the movie. He swiped his finger along his nose and then goes into a
Muhammed Ali pose and says… "I want you… I want you"! He looked funny… I
figured he was about half shit faced.
Now this guy's nickname was "Cinderella"… a takeoff on his Italian last name. And he
was quite a character… He was like Joe Blifspik… the Al Capp cartoon character… he
seemed to live under a black cloud wherever he went. He worked hard… and
unfortunately, he played as hard as he worked. Always getting into some kind of
trouble… nothing serious, but constantly on my weekend EPD crew…but I couldn't help
but love the guy… he had great spirit.
Anyway… I'm sitting on the edge of a picnic table when he does his Ali thing… and I
smiled and looked back at him and said… "Whatta you want me for Cindy… You're not
going queer on us are you"? He snapped to attention in an exaggerated manner and said
"No Sir"! Then he bends over, points his finger and says… "I… want… you… to fly
me"! All the troops around us laughed and I said… "Cindy my man… you got me… I'll
give you your ride".
The next day I went to the skipper to set up the fly day for the troops… and the son of a
bitch tried to weasel out! He starts backstroking immediately…"I don't know… we are
supposed to do a full checkout in the pressure chamber"… and a whole bunch of other
excuses. I was pissed… I told him we'd already scheduled a seat checkout for everyone
involved and there was only nine guys… we'd be in the restricted area right next to the
base and they would be short hops anyway. And then I stood up and said, "If you want
me to go back and tell the troops that we aren't going to keep our word after they busted
their asses… I'll do it. But I don't think you'll like the results". He looked at me and said,
"You're trying to blackmail me"… I said, "No Sir… if we didn't intend to do it, we
should never have promised it… I'd planned on doing it Sunday morning… the base will
be quiet and no heavies will be around". He finally threw up his hands and said, "OK…
but if anything goes wrong it's your ass".
I went back to Maintenance Control and told Phil Seward, my Maintenance Chief to set
up the seat check outs… I told him I wanted five airplanes available with a spare. All the
birds would have drops except one… I wanted one bird totally slick… no tanks, no
racks… clean as a whistle. I told him they would be short hops and hopefully we could
hot seat the riders. They'd pull in, shut down the left engine, change riders and go back
out… we'd do two guys in each airplane and get two short hops on one bag of gas… but
they could go through the hot re-fuel pits if they needed to.
Seward said he'd take care of it and then he said… "What's the slick bird for"? I looked
at him and said, "I'm gonna give Cinderella the ride of his life". Seward just looked at me
and smiled.
Somehow the word got around and the troops started ragging Cinderella… "Man, the
Captain is gonna make you puke"! Cindy was full of bravado and said, "No way"!
Sunday morning came and the whole Maintenance department came out to watch. We
dressed the troops that were going to fly in helmets, masks and torso harnesses and I
didn't see Cindy anywhere. I thought for a second he'd chickened out. But finally he
makes a grand entrance… completely decked out in flight gear, including a "G" suit!
Here he comes… diddy bopping along the flight line… really hamming it up. God, he
had spunk and a fabulous sense of humor… he was playing junior birdman to the hilt…
this was going to be fun.
By the time we got Cindy strapped in… the other four airplanes were already taxiing out.
By the time we got to the end of the runway… they were all airborne, doing their thing. A
note here; MCAS Yuma, had one of the longest runways in the country… over 12,000
feet… it was winter time, a cold morning and it was perfect for max acceleration in the
Phantom. The RF-4 was the "Hot Rod" of all the Phantoms. I used to have a little brass
plaque that read, "Yeh tho I fly through the valley of death… I fear no evil… 'cause a
clean RF-4… is a fast son of a bitch"! On this day… all the stars in heaven were aligned
for Cindy's Great Adventure.
After final checks, I called the tower and requested a max performance takeoff… we'd be
heading south toward the US/Mexico border. The request was granted and I was cleared
for takeoff. I pulled on the runway, did a ramp and nozzle check and brought the power
up and released the brakes… then I went into full afterburner. I swear the plane just
leaped forward! Without the tanks and racks we usually flew with (and the extra weight)
… she came out of the gate like a thoroughbred. I said over the ICS… "Cindy, hang on…
its show time"!
As we accelerated, I watched for the angle of attack indexer lights to come on… telling
me the weight was off the gear… as soon as they lit, I paused a half second and threw up
the gear handle, increasing our acceleration, then quickly raised the flaps… I kept the
aircraft as low as I could and by the time I hit the end of the runway and airfield
boundary, I was doing 580 kts and I made a smooth quick pull to 60 degrees nose up and
neutralized the controls… we were now a freaken rocket ship… heading for the heavens
(it looked straight up to folks on the ground)… I maintained the angle until my speed had
bled down to 250 knots at which time I did a push over… and plastered Cindy up toward
the top of the canopy… "Cindy this is what "zero G" feels like". I could see him in the
mirrors and he looked funny… all outta kilter… but he was loving it! "Woweee… shit
hot", he said, "Is this is what the astronauts feel like in space"?
Once the speed built back up, I banked hard into the restricted area and dove for the
deck… I wanted to show Cindy what real speed looked like down low… and we
skimmed along the cacti at .9 Mach, about 25 feet off the deck… he was eating it up.
Then I lit both burners and went into a four "G" pull into an Immellman… I topped out at
12,000 feet and went right into another one up to about 26,000… I never came out of
burner and then shallow dived and went supersonic… so he could tell his parents he'd
flown faster than the speed of sound… I finally came out of burner and used my energy
to do a loop and went right into a Cuban Eight… followed by a series of high "G" turns
and rolls. I turned the airplane everywhere but loose… yanking and banking… this way
and that. We zoomed up and rolled over the top and back down again… I really put it
through it's' paces.
The whole time… Cindy is screaming for joy in the back seat… pure unadulterated
enthusiasm! "Oh God… this is great… I wanna do this myself some day… I can't believe
it"… he went on and on. Time just flew by and I looked at the tape and counter and we
were already almost at bingo fuel and we hadn't been airborne more than 20 minutes…
Those two big J-79's sucked up a lot of fuel when you pushed it as hard as we were. I
popped the speed brakes, pulled up the nose to bleed off the speed… rolled over on my
back and did a split "S"… diving for the deck… while I was doing this, I said, "Cindy…
you just got the "E" ticket ride… but we gotta go home… we're out of gas". He said
"Noooo, I want more"… I'm thinking; what a gutsy little son of a bitch.
We're coming downhill at warp speed as I dove for Yuma… Passing about 10,000 feet,
Cindy asked if I could do a "Shit Hot" break over the hangar so he could wave at his
Buds… I said I'd try. Aiming to please… When I called the tower, I requested a "carrier
break"… the tower came back immediately and said, "You're approved, the pattern is
clear"… We had so much energy built up… I was doing 600 knots at six hundred feet,
when I hit the numbers. I snapped the airplane 90 degrees and pulled as hard as I dared…
the Phantom was just digging in and she was buckin' like a bronco at a rodeo… I even
tapped the burner for a second to keep from stalling… in the mirror it looked like Cindy
was graying out… he wasn't waving as we went over the hangar. Passing 180 degrees, I
snapped the wings level and was amazed to see we were still doing 450 knots! I popped
the boards (speed brakes, which were almost worthless on the Phantom), but we went
screaming downwind, almost half way to YPG (Yuma Proving Grounds) before I turned
back inbound and lowered the gear and flaps.
I've got everything set up and we were on about a 5 mile, straight in final… when I hear
Cindy on the intercom… "Sir, I think I'm gonna be sick"! I glanced at him in the mirror
and could see the color had left his cheeks… I immediately said, "Take your mask off and
use your barf bag… what ever you do… don't throw up in the mask… we're on pressure
breathing… it'll shove it right back in your throat"… He weakly replied… "I didn't
bring one".
We're on a 5 mile straight in… rock solid… and now he decides to get sick?… "Jeezus
Cindy… take your mask off… don't puke in the mask"! I look in the mirror and see him
unlatch the right side of his mask… I can now see his gray face and his cheeks bulging
with the tell tale signs of an impending… "Barf O'rama"! I wanted to laugh… but at the
same time I'm feeling sorry for him… and in a moment of brilliance… I said, "Take off
your gloves… puke in them… that'll keep it out of the cockpit… what'd ya have for
breakfast"? "Nothing Sir… just orange juice"… in the mirrors I saw him lean over and
take off the gloves and I said, "Well good… there won't be any chunks in it… mostly just
bile"!
Just before I touched down… I could hear Cindy on the intercom… puking his guts out…
I had to laugh! I popped the drag chute and as we slowed down to depart the runway… I
told him to open his canopy as soon as we got on the taxi way… I didn't want to smell
his shit when I took my mask off. As soon as we pulled off, I could feel the cool air
coming in my cockpit as he raised his canopy.
Now we had a long taxi to get back to the hangar… I heard a couple of small chokes, but
no more hard barfing… after a couple of minutes, Cindy says to me… "Sir, could you
please not tell them? I said, "Tell them what"? He said, "That I puked… I'll never live it
down". I looked in my mirror and my heart went out to him… I really liked this kid… I
finally said, "Cindy… your secret is good with me… you were a good shit… and truth be
known, I really laid it on and was getting a little queasy myself".
I finally opened my canopy and we taxied into the line… I looked down and it seemed
like the whole Maintenance section was waiting for us… I looked in the mirror and
Cindy had had a miraculous recovery… he was back to hamming it up! He was giving
the "Sting" salute… waving… and giving the troops a big thumbs up to everyone on the
ground. He was on stage… and was back in Cinderella mode… but what I couldn't see
was his left hand.
I brought the airplane to a stop and once the plane captain gave me the chocked signal…
I shut the engines off… as they spooled down, I could hear the catcalls between Cindy
and the troops on the ground… they were really going back and forth. While Cindy was
doing this… he failed to notice that the plane captain had put the boarding ladder on the
plane and had climbed up to assist us in getting out of the cockpit.
Normal procedure was for us to take our helmets, oxygen masks and gloves off… and
hand them to the plane captain while we pinned the ejection seats, un-hooked our Koch
fittings from the seat and took our garters off… I handed mine to the plane captain…
Unfortunately, Cindy was so busy hamming it up… he failed to see the plane captain
leaning over the intake to grab his gloves, that he held in his left hand… Unfortunately
for the plane captain, he failed to notice the nomex gloves were full… like someone had
blown air into some rubber hospital gloves. The plane captain grabs the gloves below
Cindy's hand… and before it registered in his brain… the gloves erupted like a small
volcano… spilling their contents all over the plane captains' hand and it dribbled down
onto the left console of the rear cockpit!
The plane captain was stunned… he flung the gloves up into the air like he'd grabbed a
warm turd and yelled out… "Jeezus Christ… you son of a bitch… you puked in your
gloves"!!!
I turned around and looked back at Cindy… only to see the color blanch from his face for
the second time in less than an hour… He was mortified! At the same time a roar went up
from the troops… the cat was out of the bag… his goose was cooked and Cindy was in
for a rough time.
I stood up in the seat looked back, gave the "Sting" salute and said… "Honest Cindy… I
didn't say nothin'… I didn't tell"!… The plane captain then yelled out… "Ya didn't have
to Sir… it's all over the place… he's gonna have to clean this shit up… I ain't doin' it"!
The troops just roared again… laughing!
From that day forward… he was known as… not just Cinderella… but "Pukin'
Cinderella" to his Buds… He took a lot of ribbing for months… But he was a good shit
about it and laughed along with the rest of us… I'll never forget him.
I'm sure he enjoyed his "E Ticket" ride… and has probably told the story as often as I
have… but somehow I think… knowing Cindy… he might just be leaving out the best
part. What a hoot!
Shadow
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