To All,
Good Monday Morning September 16. 2024. Well I hope that you all have a great week. The car guys still have not come to pick up the Vette which is holding up the other things that need to be done. This List is late this morning because I cleverly deleted it thinking that it was just one of the half dozen windows I had been working from. Not a total loss but enough. Usually from habit I hit save a lot remembering what it was like in the old days when it was easy to watch a lot of work go away. First class of the Fall quarter tonight and I am looking forward to it. Got about 16 new and 75 returning so far.
Warm Regards and have a great week,
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. 16
1814 A squadron from the schooner USS Carolina attacks and raids the base of the pirate Jean Lafitte, at Barataria, La., capturing six schooners and other small craft while the pirates flee the attack.
1823 Samuel Southard becomes the seventh Secretary of the Navy, serving until March 3, 1829. During his tenure, he enlarges the Navy, improves administration, purchases land for the first Naval Hospitals, begins construction of the first Navy dry docks, undertakes surveying U.S. coastal waters and promotes exploration in the Pacific Ocean.
1854 Mare Island, Calif. becomes the first permanent U.S. naval installation on the west coast, with Cmdr. David G. Farragut as its first base commander.
1922 Cmdr. Halsey Powell in USS Edsall (DD 219 becomes the senior officer directing the evacuation of 250,000 Greek refugees from Turkey after war between Greece and Turkey.
1944 USS Barb (SS 220) sinks the Japanese 11,700-ton tanker, Azusa, and the 20,000-ton escort carrier, Unyo, 200 miles southeast of Hong Kong. Additionally, while off Yokosuka, Japan, USS Sea Devil (SS 400) sinks the Japanese submarine I-364.
1947 The National Security Act becomes effective after the bill signed by President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1947. The Act realigns and reorganizes the U.S. Armed Forces, foreign policy, and Intelligence Community apparatus in the aftermath of World War II. The Act merges the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment, headed by the Secretary of Defense, Adm. James Forrestal.
1958 USS Grayback (SSG 574) fires the first operational launch of a Regulus II surface-to- surface guided missile, while off the coast of California.
1966 USS Oriskany (CVA 34) helicopters rescue 44 men of British merchant ship, Aug. Moon, as she was breaking up in heavy seas on Pratas Reef 175 miles southeast of Hong Kong.
1994 USS Charlotte (SSN 766) is commissioned at Naval Station Norfolk. The 16th of the Los Angeles-class(improved) attack submarines, the boat is the fourth Navy ship to be named for the North Carolina city.
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Today in World History September 16
1620 The Pilgrims sail from England on the Mayflower.
1668 King John Casimer V of Poland abdicates the throne.
1747 The French capture Bergen-op-Zoom, consolidating their occupation of Austrian Flanders in the Netherlands.
1789 Jean-Paul Marat sets up a new newspaper in France, L'Ami du Peuple.
1810 A revolution for independence breaks out in Mexico.
1864 Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest leads 4,500 men out of Verona, Miss. to harass Union outposts in northern Alabama and Tennessee.
1889 Robert Younger, in Minnesota's Stillwater Penitentiary for life, dies of tuberculosis. Brothers Cole and Bob remain in the prison.
1893 Some 50,000 "Sooners" claim land in the Cherokee Strip during the first day of the Oklahoma land rush.
1908 General Motors files papers of incorporation.
1920 Thirty people are killed in a terrorist bombing in New York's Wall Street financial district.
1934 Anti-Nazi Lutherans stage protest in Munich.
1940 Congress passes the Selective Service Act, which calls for the first peacetime draft in U.S. history.
1942 The Japanese base at Kiska in the Aleutian Islands is raided by American bombers.
1945 Japan surrenders Hong Kong to Britain.
1950 The U.S. 8th Army breaks out of the Pusan Perimeter in South Korea and begins heading north to meet MacArthur's troops heading south from Inchon.
1972 South Vietnamese troops recapture Quang Tri province in South Vietnam from the North Vietnamese Army.
1974 Limited amnesty is offered to Vietnam-era draft resisters who would now swear allegiance to the United States and perform two years of public service.
1975 Administrators for Rhodes Scholarships announce the decision to begin offering fellowships to women.
1978 An earthquake estimated to be as strong as 7.9 on the Richter scale kills 25,000 people in Iran.
1991 The trial of Manuel Noriega, deposed dictator of Panama, begins in the United States.
1994 Britain's government lifts the 1988 broadcasting ban against member of Ireland's Sinn Fein and Irish paramilitary groups.
2007 Military contractors in the employ of Blackwater Worldwide allegedly kill 17 Iraqis in Baghdad's Nisour Square, further straining relations between the US and the people of Iraq.
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Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For "The List" for the week of 16 September 2024…. Bear
BEAR SENDS… OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972) From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com… This post concludes the inclusion of Rolling Thunder and Commando Hunt reposts in "The List." For the past 44-weeks, I have provided access to archive entries covering Commando Hunt operations for the period November 1968 through mid-September 1969. These posts are permanently available at the following link.
https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/commando-hunt-post-list/
The RTR website is the domain and property of author Dan Heller and reflects his dedication and commitment to extending the site and archive into the future. The Yankee Air Pirates of Rolling Thunder and Commando Hunt and their 1965-1972 fight with North Vietnam will NOT be forgotten, thanks to Dan's assumption of this task. The RTR site is now world class and in great hands…
It has been my honor and duty to create and turnover this journal of our air war in North Vietnam to Dan Heller. It has also been a pleasure to repost the history of both Rolling Thunder and Commando Hunt ops in Skip Leonard's incomparable daily post and history lesson for the last three years. It was Skip's extraordinary commitment of twenty-years to his daily history lesson that inspired me to create Rolling Thunder Remembered in 2016… Skip goes on. I'm done… Glory gained and duty done, I now retire to my cave on Mount Ogden to contemplate my navel… Bear
(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 16 September
16-Sep: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2764
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 Al
Monday Morning Humor--Thoughts from Sharp Minds
Submitted by Mike Farlow:
Musings…
• I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
• A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
• The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
• The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
• A backward poet writes inverse.
• In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism, it's your count that votes.
• When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
• If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you'd be in Seine.
• Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
• Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says, 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'
• Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.
• There was the person who sent ten puns to friends with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
More musings…
• Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
• Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
• The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.
• To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
• When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.
• The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
• A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
• A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.
• Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking.
• We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.
• When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U C L A.
• The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on it.
• The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.
• The dead batteries were given out free of charge.
• If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.
• A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail.
• What's the definition of a will? It's a dead giveaway.
• A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two-tired.
• Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
• A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.
• If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
• With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.
• Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.
• When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
• The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
• A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France; the result: Linoleum Blownapart.
• You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
• He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
• A calendar's days are numbered.
• A lot of money is tainted: 'Taint yours, and 'taint mine.
• A boiled egg is hard to beat.
• He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
• A plateau is a high form of flattery.
• Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
• When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.
• When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.
• Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.
• Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
• Acupuncture: a jab well done
Submitted by Peggy Yungheim:
Thoughts for the Day…
• Due to my time alone, I finished three books yesterday. And believe me, that's a lot of coloring.
• What did our parents do to kill boredom before the internet? I asked my 26 brothers and sisters and they didn't know either.
• I tried donating blood today...NEVER AGAIN! Too many stupid questions: Who's blood is it? Where did you get it from? Why is it in a bucke
• There's nothing scarier than that split second when you lose your balance in the shower and you think, "They are going to find me naked."
• Today, I melted an ice cube with my mind just by staring at it. It took a lot longer than I thought it would.
• Struggling to get your wife's attention? Just sit down and look comfortable.
• Just sold my homing pigeon on eBay for the 22nd time.
• I grew up with Steve Jobs, Johnny Cash and Bob Hope. Now there's no jobs, no cash, and no hope. Please don't let anything happen to Kevin Bacon.
• Shout-out to everyone who can still remember their childhood phone number but can't remember the password they created yesterday. You are my people.
• One minute you're young and fun. And next, you're turning down the stereo in your car to see better.
• Think you're old and you will be old. Think you are young, and you will be delusional.
• When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is 'yes' or 'no'. Not all this "Who are you and how did you get in here?"
• Not in jail, not in a mental hospital, not in a grave—I'd say I'm having a good day.
Even more musings…
• I never thought orthopedic shoes would really work for me, but I stand corrected.
• Once upon a time there was a king who was only 12 inches tall. He was a terrible king, but he made a great ruler.
• A Mexican magician said he will disappear on the count of three. He says, ""Uno, dos." Poof. He disappeared without a tres.
• I wrote a book on how to fall down the stairs. It's a step by step guide.
• My son was chewing on electric cords, so I had to ground him. It's OK, though. He's doing better and conducting himself properly.
• My friend claims that he "accidentally" glued himself to his autobiography, but I don't believe him. But that's his story and he's sticking to it.
• "Doctor, my child swallowed a roll of film. What should I do?" "Let's wait and see if anything develops."
• An armed man ran into a real estate agency and shouted, "Nobody move."
• Got drunk yesterday and threw up in the elevator on my way back home. It was disgusting on so many levels.
• Why did the Mexican take anti-anxiety medication? For Hispanic attacks.
• I asked the surgeon if I could administer my own anesthetic. He said, "Sure. Knock yourself out!"
• I got into a fight today with 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. The odds were really against me.
• In Britain it's called a lift but Americans call it an elevator. I guess we were just raised differently
• 97% of people are stupid. Glad I'm in the other 5%.
• I changed my iPod's name to Titanic. It's syncing now.
• England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.
• Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.
• This girl today said she recognized me from the Vegetarians Club, but I'd swear I've never met herbivore.
• I know a guy who's addicted to drinking brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.
• A will is a dead giveaway.
• He had a photographic memory but it was never fully developed.
• When she saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she'd dye.
• I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.
• Did you hear about the crossed-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?
• When chemists die, they barium.
• I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.
• I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down.
Submitted by Ed Ewert:
Snappy Retorts…
It was mealtime during an airline flight. The flight attendant asked passenger John, "Would you like dinner?"
"What are my choices?" John asked.
"Yes or no," she replied.
A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets. As a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket.
He opened his trench coat and flashed her.
Without missing a beat, she said, "Sir, I need to see your ticket, not your stub."
A woman was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store but she couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?"
The stock boy replied, "No ma'am, they're dead."
As the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window, the policeman got out of his vehicle and approached the kid, "I've been waiting for you all day."
The kid replied, "Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could."
When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a ticket.
A truck driver was driving along the freeway and noticed a sign that read: Low Bridge Ahead. Before he knows it, the bridge is right in front of him and his truck gets wedged under it. Cars are backed up for miles.
Finally, a police vehicle comes up. The cop gets out of his car, walks to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, "Got stuck, huh?"
The truck driver says, "No, I was delivering this bridge and I ran out of gas."
A college teacher reminds her class of tomorrow's final exam. "Now class, I won't tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack, a serious personal injury, illness or a death in your immediate family. But that's it -- no other excuses whatsoever!"
The smart-ass student in the back of the room raised his hand and asked, "What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?"
The entire class is reduced to laughter and snickering.
When silence was restored, the teacher smiled knowingly at the student, shook her head and sweetly said, "Well, I guess you'd have to write the exam with your other hand."
Have a great week,
Al
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Thanks to Captain Billy and Dr. Rich
. Here's a bit of history that many likely don't know about:
Pilot Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan sought permission from the Civil Aviation Authority to fly across the Atlantic from New York to Ireland, but he was turned down on the grounds that his plane was in poor condition.
Corrigan seemed to accept the ruling, but when he took off from New York on July 17, 1938, he banked sharply to the east and headed out over the ocean. Twenty-eight hours and 13 minutes later, Corrigan landed in Ireland, innocently explaining that his 180-degree wrong turn must have been due to a faulty compass.
No one believed Corrigan's explanation, especially the aviation authorities in both Ireland and America, who suspended the rebellious pilot's license and ordered his aircraft dismantled. Upon his return to America, 'Wrong-Way' Corrigan was greeted as a hero. More than a million people lined New York's Broadway for a ticker-tape parade honoring the man who had flown in the face of authority.
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Great video about ejection seat testing: (Thanks Norm).
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For those who built a B 17 model when kids… (Thanks to Dave R).
B-17 "All American" (414th Squadron, 97BG) Crew
Pilot- Ken Bragg Jr..
Copilot- G. Boyd Jr.
Navigator- Harry C. Nuessle
Bombardier- Ralph Burbridge
Engineer- Joe C. James
Radio Operator- Paul A. Galloway
Ball Turret Gunner- Elton Conda
Waist Gunner- Michael Zuk
Tail Gunner- Sam T.Sarpolus
Ground Crew Chief- Hank Hyland
In 1943 a mid-air collision on February 1, 1943, between a B-17 and a German fighter over the Tunis dock area, became the subject of one of the most famous photographs of WW II.
An enemy fighter attacking a 97th Bomb Group formation went out of control, probably with a wounded pilot, then continued its crashing descent into the rear of the fuselage of a Fortress named
"All American", piloted by Lt. Kendrick R. Bragg, of the 414th Bomb Squadron.
When it struck, the fighter broke apart, but left pieces in the B-17. The left horizontal stabilizer of the Fortress and left elevator were completely torn away. The two right engines were out
and one on the left had a serious oil pump leak. The vertical fin and the rudder had been damaged, the fuselage had been cut almost completely through connected only at two small parts of the frame,
and the radios, electrical and oxygen systems were damaged.
There was also a hole in the top that was over 16 feet long and 4 feet wide at its widest; the split in the fuselage went all the way to the top gunner's turret.
Although the tail actually bounced and swayed in the wind and twisted when the plane turned and all the control cables were severed, except one single elevator cable still worked, and the aircraft miraculously still flew!
The tail gunner was trapped because there was no floor connecting the tail to the rest of the plane. The waist and tail gunners used parts of the German fighter and their own parachute harnesses in an attempt to keep
the tail from ripping off and the two sides of the fuselage from splitting apart.
While the crew was trying to keep the bomber from coming apart, the pilot continued on his bomb run and released his bombs over the target.
When the bomb bay doors were opened, the wind turbulence was so great that it blew one of the waist gunners into the broken tail section. It took several minutes and four crew members to pass him ropes from
parachutes and haul him back into the forward part of the plane. When they tried to do the same for the tailgunner, the tail began flapping so hard that it began to break off. The weight of the gunner was adding
some stability to the tail section, so he went back to his position. The turn back toward England had to be very slow to keep the tail from twisting off. They covered almost 70 miles to make the turn home.
The bomber was so badly damaged that it was losing altitude and speed and was soon alone in the sky.
For a brief time, two more Me-109 German fighters attacked the All American. Despite the extensive damage, all of the machine gunners were able to respond to these attacks and soon drove off the fighters.
The two waist gunners stood up with their heads sticking out through the hole in the top of the fuselage to aim and fire their machine guns. The tail gunner had to shoot in short bursts because the recoil was actually causing the plane to turn.
Allied P-51 fighters intercepted the All American as it crossed over the Channel and took one of the pictures shown. They also radioed to the base describing that the appendage was waving like a fish tail and that the plane would not make it and to send out boats to rescue the crew when they bailed out.
The fighters stayed with the Fortress, taking hand signals from Lt. Bragg and relaying them to the base. Lt. Bragg signaled that 5 parachutes and the spare had been "used" so five of the crew could not bail out.
He made the decision that if they could not bail out safely, then he would stay with the plane to land it.
Two and a half hours after being hit, the aircraft made its final turn to line up with the runway while it was still over 40 miles away. It descended into an emergency landing and a normal roll-out on its landing gear.
When the ambulance pulled alongside, it was waved off because not a single member of the crew had been injured. No one could believe that the aircraft could still fly in such a condition.
The Fortress sat placidly until the crew all exited through the door in the fuselage and the tail gunner had climbed down a ladder, at which time the entire rear section of the aircraft collapsed.
This old bird had done its job and brought the entire crew home uninjured.
I love war stories with a happy ending !
The Borns Boys will appreciate this one. Their father flew B-17s during WWII and, later for PanAm. Hop they'll send me a sketch on their Dad with photos to add to a future Eye Candy...
Blue Skies & Tailwinds….
Https://CaptainBillyWalker.com
(480) 773-2823
From Skip…Be sure to go to Captain Billy's site…You can get lost for hours there in the history of aviation
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
6 Interesting Facts About Exercising
Movement does our bodies good. But you know what's easier than running a marathon? Learning a few quick facts about exercise, no pain or gain required.
We aren't doctors, so we can't advise you on the best ways for you to exercise — but we can rattle off some trivia about it. Where did the 10,000 steps benchmark come from? What's the deal with a "runner's high"? These six interesting facts may not help you get fit, but at least you'll learn something.
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Exercise Can Get Some People High
You may have heard of a "runner's high," or a rush of euphoria after exercise that's not actually limited to runners. It's a real biological phenomenon, although it's relatively rare. The commonly held belief is that it's caused by hormones called endorphins, but they don't cross the blood-brain barrier. The more likely culprit is the endocannabinoid system, the same system that cannabis interacts with to create its psychoactive effects.
Exercise increases the amount of endocannabinoids in the bloodstream, which can cross the blood-brain barrier. For some people, this can cause a rush of euphoria, reduced anxiety, and improved mood. This isn't especially common, though, and there's much about the phenomenon scientists are still trying to figure out.
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Exercise Can Help You Think More Clearly
Ever take a walk to clear your head? It might not just be a change of scenery that gives you a much-needed reset. A growing body of research shows that exercise, including walking, increases cognitive ability.
Exercising increases blood flow, including to the brain. The increase in energy and oxygen could boost performance. But it gets more complex than that. When we exercise, the hippocampus, a part of our brain necessary for learning and memory, becomes more active — and when there's increased energy in the hippocampus, we think more effectively. Regular exercise could even help reverse age-related brain damage.
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Even Babies Need Exercise
Babyhood offers an unparalleled opportunity to mostly just eat and sleep, but in between, infants need at least some exercise. Giving infants several opportunities to move around each day could improve motor skills, bone health, and social development. Tummy time — supervised time with a baby lying face-down — strengthens babies' neck, shoulder, and arm muscles, too. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that babies are active several times a day, including at least 30 minutes on the stomach. Babies still get plenty of dozing time, though; the WHO recommends 12 to 16 hours of sleep for infants 4 months through 11 months of age.
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10,000 Steps Was Invented for Pedometer Marketing
If you have a smartwatch or other fitness tracker, you might get a little celebratory notification when you hit 10,000 steps — or maybe you've just heard someone refer to "getting their 10,000 steps in." That benchmark persists because it's a nice, round number that's easier to use in marketing materials, not because there's any scientific basis for it.
Way back in the 1960s, a Japanese company invented a pedometer called Manpo-kei, or "10,000 steps meter," building off momentum from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Nearly 60 years later, it's still the default setting in many step counters, including Fitbit devices.
While getting 10,000 steps a day is a healthy habit, you don't have to take that many to see benefits from walking, according to experts. One study found that just 4,400 steps a day can lower the risk of early death by 41%. Benefits increased with additional steps, but topped out at around 7,500 (at least in one study looking at mortality in older women). Of course, your mileage may vary depending on your goals, exercise pace, and general health, but there's no reason to feel discouraged if you're not getting a full 10,000 in every day.
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"Gymnasium" Comes From the Greek for "School for Naked Exercise"
Today, "gymnasium" or "gym" can refer to a lot of things having to do with physical activity, like a school gymnasium, a health club, or a playground jungle gym. It comes from the ancient Greek word gymnasion, or "school for naked exercise." Gymnos meant "naked," and the people using the gym didn't wear clothes — they just oiled or dusted themselves up. In ancient Greece, physical education was just as important as the arts, and these facilities eventually grew more elaborate, with surrounding changing rooms, baths, and practice rooms.
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Gardening Counts as Exercise
Getting your hands dirty in your garden isn't just a mood-boosting pastime — it's great exercise, too. All that digging, hauling, and moving works all your major muscle groups, improves mobility, and boosts endurance. It burns some serious energy, too: Even light gardening or yard work can burn more than 300 calories per hour for a 154-pound person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's comparable to going dancing or taking a hike. For heavy yard work, like chopping wood, the number jumps up to 440 calories per hour, although the exact number will vary depending on the nature of the work and each individual body.
It's easy to build a more strenuous workout from your existing gardening routine with simple adjustments like carrying heavier cans of water, switching to a push mower, or increasing walking around your yard. And there's an additional healthy bonus to garden exercise: Fresh veggies!
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This Day in U S Military History
September 16y
1620 – The Mayflower sails from Plymouth, England, bound for the New World with 102 passengers. The ship was headed for Virginia, where the colonists–half religious dissenters and half entrepreneurs–had been authorized to settle by the British crown. However, stormy weather and navigational errors forced the Mayflower off course, and on November 21 the "Pilgrims" reached Massachusetts, where they founded the first permanent European settlement in New England in late December. Thirty-five of the Pilgrims were members of the radical English Separatist Church, who traveled to America to escape the jurisdiction of the Church of England, which they found corrupt. Ten years earlier, English persecution had led a group of Separatists to flee to Holland in search of religious freedom. However, many were dissatisfied with economic opportunities in the Netherlands, and under the direction of William Bradford they decided to immigrate to Virginia, where an English colony had been founded at Jamestown in 1607. The Separatists won financial backing from a group of investors called the London Adventurers, who were promised a sizable share of the colony's profits. Three dozen church members made their way back to England, where they were joined by about 70 entrepreneurs–enlisted by the London stock company to ensure the success of the enterprise. In August 1620, the Mayflower left Southampton with a smaller vessel–the Speedwell–but the latter proved unseaworthy and twice was forced to return to port. On September 16, the Mayflower left for America alone from Plymouth. In a difficult Atlantic crossing, the 90-foot Mayflower encountered rough seas and storms and was blown more than 500 miles off course. Along the way, the settlers formulated and signed the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that bound the signatories into a "civil body politic." Because it established constitutional law and the rule of the majority, the compact is regarded as an important precursor to American democracy. After a 66-day voyage, the ship landed on November 21 on the tip of Cape Cod at what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts. After coming to anchor in Provincetown harbor, a party of armed men under the command of Captain Myles Standish was sent out to explore the area and find a location suitable for settlement. While they were gone, Susanna White gave birth to a son, Peregrine, aboard the Mayflower. He was the first English child born in New England. In mid-December, the explorers went ashore at a location across Cape Cod Bay where they found cleared fields and plentiful running water and named the site Plymouth. The expedition returned to Provincetown, and on December 21 the Mayflower came to anchor in Plymouth harbor. Just after Christmas, the pilgrims began work on dwellings that would shelter them through their difficult first winter in America. In the first year of settlement, half the colonists died of disease. In 1621, the health and economic condition of the colonists improved, and that autumn Governor William Bradford invited neighboring Indians to Plymouth to celebrate the bounty of that year's harvest season. Plymouth soon secured treaties with most local Indian tribes, and the economy steadily grew, and more colonists were attracted to the settlement. By the mid 1640s, Plymouth's population numbered 3,000 people, but by then the settlement had been overshadowed by the larger Massachusetts Bay Colony to the north, settled by Puritans in 1629. The term "Pilgrim" was not used to describe the Plymouth colonists until the early 19th century and was derived from a manuscript in which Governor Bradford spoke of the "saints" who left Holland as "pilgrimes." The orator Daniel Webster spoke of "Pilgrim Fathers" at a bicentennial celebration of Plymouth's founding in 1820, and thereafter the term entered common usage.
1920 – As lunchtime approached on September 16, 1920, New York's financial district was grinding through its regular motions–people were gathering outside to eat, and brokers were holed up inside, busily trading away the day. But before the clock hit noon, routine gave way to panic, as a horse-drawn wagon filled with explosives suddenly detonated near the subtreasury. Flames flooded Wall Street, shooting up nearly six-stories-high. The blast shattered windows around the area and sent a pipe crashing against the neck of a man strolling some six blocks away from the subtreasury. All told, 300 people were killed and a hundred more were wounded. The only famous financial figure to be injured was Junius Spencer, J.P. Morgan's grandson, who suffered a slight gash on one hand. Since radical bashing was in vogue at the time, Communists, Anarchists, and anyone else leaning too far to the left were accused of having staged a violent protest against capitalism. More pragmatic souls argued that the wagon belonged to an explosives operation and had simply strayed from its prescribed route. Whatever merits these theories have, the ensuing investigation failed to uncover the culprit or cause of the blast, and the case remains a mystery.
1940 – Under authority granted by Congress, President Franklin Roosevelt orders the Army to begin mobilizing the entire National Guard for one year's training prompted by the worsening conditions in Europe. The Nazis armies had conquered most of Western Europe except Britain. The president and Congress wanted the 242,000 men in the Guard to rapidly expand the Regular Army of only 190,000 men and begin to prepare in case of attack. The first of 18 increments enter active duty today, the last units will not be called up until the spring of 1941. Guardsmen report to forts located all across the country. Once settled in, they begin large maneuver training not usually available in peacetime. Guard aerial observation squadrons, separated from their parent divisions and placed in Army Air Corps groups, began antisubmarine patrols along the coasts. Helping to fill in the ranks were men drafted under a newly enacted conscription law passed by Congress. America was preparing for war.
1950 – The U.S. 1st Marine Division, assisted by four battalions of ROK Marines, secured the Inchon peninsula. The way was now clear for the landing of the rest of X Corps and the attack towards Seoul and Suwon.
1950 – The U.S. 8th Army broke out of the Pusan Perimeter in South Korea and began heading north to meet MacArthur's troops heading south from Inchon.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
PRESTON, ARTHUR MURRAY
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy Reserve, Torpedo Boat Squadron 33. Place and date. Wasile Bay, Halmahera Island, 16 September 1944. Entered service at: Maryland. Born: 1 November 1913, Washington, D.C. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commander, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 33, while effecting the rescue of a Navy pilot shot down in Wasile Bay, Halmahera Island, less than 200 yards from a strongly defended Japanese dock and supply area, 16 September 1944. Volunteering for a perilous mission unsuccessfully attempted by the pilot's squadron mates and a PBY plane, Lt. Comdr. (then Lieutenant) Preston led PT-489 and PT-363 through 60 miles of restricted, heavily mined waters. Twice turned back while running the gauntlet of fire from powerful coastal defense guns guarding the 11-mile strait at the entrance to the bay, he was again turned back by furious fire in the immediate area of the downed airman. Aided by an aircraft smokescreen, he finally succeeded in reaching his objective and, under vicious fire delivered at 150-yard range, took the pilot aboard and cleared the area, sinking a small hostile cargo vessel with 40-mm. fire during retirement. Increasingly vulnerable when covering aircraft were forced to leave because of insufficient fuel, Lt. Comdr. Preston raced PT boats 489 and 363 at high speed for 20 minutes through shell-splashed water and across minefields to safety. Under continuous fire for 2l/2 hours, Lt. Comdr. Preston successfully achieved a mission considered suicidal in its tremendous hazards, and brought his boats through without personnel casualties and with but superficial damage from shrapnel. His exceptional daring and great personal valor enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
*VITTORI, JOSEPH
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Company F, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Hill 749, Korea, 15 and 16 September 1951. Entered service at: Beverly, Mass. Born: 1 August 1929, Beverly, Mass. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an automatic-rifleman in Company F, in action against enemy aggressor forces. With a forward platoon suffering heavy casualties and forced to withdraw under a vicious enemy counterattack as his company assaulted strong hostile forces entrenched on Hill 749, Cpl. Vittori boldly rushed through the withdrawing troops with 2 other volunteers from his reserve platoon and plunged directly into the midst of the enemy. Overwhelming them in a fierce hand-to-hand struggle, he enabled his company to consolidate its positions to meet further imminent onslaughts. Quick to respond to an urgent call for a rifleman to defend a heavy machine gun positioned on the extreme point of the northern flank and virtually isolated from the remainder of the unit when the enemy again struck in force during the night, he assumed position under the devastating barrage and, fighting a single-handed battle, leaped from 1 flank to the other, covering each foxhole in turn as casualties continued to mount manning a machine gun when the gunner was struck down and making repeated trips through the heaviest shellfire to replenish ammunition. With the situation becoming extremely critical, reinforcing units to the rear pinned down under the blistering attack and foxholes left practically void by dead and wounded for a distance of 100 yards, Cpl. Vittori continued his valiant stand, refusing to give ground as the enemy penetrated to within feet of his position, simulating strength in the line and denying the foe physical occupation of the ground. Mortally wounded by the enemy machine gun and rifle bullets while persisting in his magnificent defense of the sector where approximately 200 enemy dead were found the following morning, Cpl. Vittori, by his fortitude, stouthearted courage, and great personal valor, had kept the point position intact despite the tremendous odds and undoubtedly prevented the entire battalion position from collapsing. His extraordinary heroism throughout the furious nightlong battle 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 16, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
September 16
1914: In Groton, Conn., the non-recoil, 6-pounder Davis airplane gun shown at the New London Ship and Engine Company. (24)
1919: Floods on the Texas border produced one of the earliest humanitarian uses of military aircraft. A relief detachment of four JN-4Ds and eight JN-4Hs left Kelly Field. After meeting at Corpus Christi, this detachment airdropped food to seven stranded victims. (18)
1940: A War Department announcement said the CAA would cooperate with the Army on the development of black aviation units. (21)
1944: Eighth Air Force sent seven fighter groups, four carrying bombs, to strafe Hannover, Bremen, Onasbruck and bomb Ahlhorn Airfield, Mannheim, and Kaiserslautern. (4)
1949: The first Air Force three-jet aircraft, the Martin XB-51, received its final checkout.
1952: KOREAN WAR. Fifth Air Force flew 110 B-26 sorties, the high figure for the month, mostly night armed reconnaissance and interdiction. Using the recently-developed roadblock tactics, the light bombers damaged or destroyed over 100 enemy vehicles. (28)
1958: A Regulus II missile, launched from a submarine off Point Mugu, flew 200 miles to Edwards AFB. (24) North American's T-39 Sabreliner made its first flight. (12)
1960: From Cape Canaveral, a 1.5-ton reentry nose cone on an Atlas missile flew on a 5,000-mile test flight. (24)
1978: Under a DoD-directed program, SAC transferred the 128th and last KC-135 (number 57-1438) from the 7 BMW at Carswell AFB to the 931 AREFG (AFRES) at Grissom AFB. (1) 1Lt Patricia M. Fornes, from the 381 SMW at McConnell AFB became SAC's first female officer to perform Titan II alert duty. (1) (6)
1983: MAC accepted the first of 11 Gulfstream III business jets, designated C-20A, into its inventory to replace C-140 special air mission aircraft. (18)
1995: Operation CARIBBEAN EXPRESS. After Hurricane Marilyn damaged or destroyed nearly 80 percent of the buildings on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and other Caribbean islands, in missions through 10 October AMC dispatched C-5s, C-17s, C-141s, and contracted commercial aircraft, and ACC sent C-130s on 212 missions to deliver 2,348 passengers and 3,617 short tons of cargo. (18)
1999: NASA's NB-52B (tail no. 52-0008) launch aircraft, nicknamed "Balls Eight," completed its 1,000th flight. (3)
2005: Travis AFB placed the restored C-141A Starlifter (tail number 63-8088), nicknamed the Golden Bear, on permanent static display. It was the USAF's first operational C-141A, the first to carry wounded troops from Vietnam to the US, the first to fly into Saigon, and in 1973 it helped fly the 566 military and 25 civilian former prisoners of war from North Vietnam to the US. (22)
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Shadow 4 of 7
Night Carrier Landings at O' Dark Thirty
or
"Hey, Don't I Get A Vote ?"
Flash back to the early 70's, some genius decided that RF-4 Photo-Phantoms should be ready to
go aboard aircraft carriers to replace the RF-8's. Trouble was all the RF-4s belonged to us... the
Marines. Most of us "Green Machine" types hadn't seen the blunt end of the boat since the
training command— not one pilot in our squadron had ever had a night trap. I was determined
that when my time came, I'd rather die than look bad.
My first night carrier landings were to be aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63). I'd gotten my
required day landings and as the designated Det Maintenance Officer I had flown out to the ship
earlier in the day to check on my troops. In the ready room I found out I was scheduled for the
first night launch along with newly designated CAG James Flatley III who was going through a
refresher course in the F-4 at Miramar. I couldn't believe my good fortune, my first night traps
were going to be "easy pinkies".
CAG Flatley came into the ready room and introduced himself. Said we'd brief 1630 for an 1800
launch. After he left the room, one of the Navy guys asked if I knew who Flatley was? I
shrugged my shoulders and this guy starts telling me about Flatley.... including the no-hook,
C-130 Hercules carrier landings caper. Now even though I was a Marine... even I was impressed.
At around 1530, the ship sailed into a fog bank. By the time we briefed the weather was "Zero-
Zero". We hung out in the ready room for hours, waiting for a break. Around 2200 we secured to
our staterooms.
My back-seater and I were "wired " and took a long time to get to sleep. At 0100, a sailor rudely
awakened us by pounding on the door and saying, " Sir, CAG is waiting for you in the ready
room. You're going flying."
My initial thought was... no fucking way! I looked at my watch and saw the time... my second
thought was... no fucking way! "Oakie"... Larry Shreve, my backseater, tumbles down from the
top bunk and says... "No fucking way".
We finally got suited up and walked down to the Ready Room in a deep fog. CAG was brighteyed
and bushy-tailed; fresh as a flower... he even smelled of after shave. "Hey, let's do it", he
said, "The brief is the same as this afternoon; except for bingo, which is 4.9. So every
pass will be a trick or treat... ya got that, I'll go first and give you a PIREP down-wind... see you
up top". With that he wheeled out of the ready room and went top side.
Putting on my speed slacks and torso harness, his abbreviated lecture sank in; max trap fuel
weight for the F-4 was 5.1. With a bingo of 4.9, we only had two hundred pounds to play
with! His cavalier "trick or treat" statement meant we either got aboard immediately or went
home, we'd have to take on fuel after every trap. I thought the weather would at least be the
thousand and three required for initial night CQ until my bleary eyes scanned the chalk board
where I saw, "Estimated 300 overcast, ¾ mile." Miramar was 200 and a half.
When i reached the flight deck my face was went wet with moisture. I looked over and CAG was
climbing into his cockpit. I could barely make out his turning toward me, smiling and giving me
a thumbs up. In my heart, I wanted to believe it was just a cruel joke they were playing on this
young Marine. I actually had convinced myself of that until he started engines.
As CAG and I taxied up to the bow cats, the boss came up and said they'd work us single
frequency until turned over to CCA. CAG needed only two traps to re-qualify. I needed to get a
full bag... six.
As I crossed the shuttle, CAG was in tension and quickly fired off. His Phantom disappeared
immediately. As I went through the checklist, I tried to keep my voice as low as possible, so as
not to do a Tiny Tim impersonation, and keep my heart from pounding a hole in my chest.
God never made a blacker void than off the bow of the boat at night with no stars or moon. By
that stage of my life, I'd been shot at, hit too, but never had anything make me as tense. We fired
off into the void.
Turning final, the CCA controller, fired off a staccato of instructions and ended with a terse,
"CAG says it's workable".
Down the chute we went. I'm working harder than I've ever had to in the cockpit. This was not
the joy of flight! It was stark raving terror! CCA calls, "¾ mile, call the ball."
I glance up and nothing ! Okie, my backseater says, "200 feet"
Paddles says, "Call the ball." Another glance and still nothing.
I key the mike and say, "I can't see shit". As the expletive is leaving my lips, I'm suddenly there
and have about a nano-second before we hit the deck and catch a wire!
Unlike a day trap where one feels a bit of euphoria and exhilaration... my first night
trap left me with the impression that I'd just cheated death. Taxiing over to the purple shirts, my
knees were shaking and my boots were drum beating on the rudder pedals. Once chained down
and taking on fuel, I hear, "Shadow, go squadron common." I switch frequencies. "What'd ya
think"?
I reply, "I didn't break out until 100 to 150 feet... This is insane!"
CAG says, " I knew you'd say that... that's why I switched you over to this freq. If an old man
like me can do it, you can too"... He knew I'd take the bait. It would end up being the longest
night I ever spent in a cockpit.
CAG Flatley got his second landing and blew me a kiss after I'd refueled the second time and I
taxied up to the cat for my third shot. Airborne, the Boss announces that the Air Wing is coming
out from Miramar and that the pattern will soon be crowded.
My third trap is another 100 footer. Steeling myself for the next go while taking on fuel the
horror show begins; plane after plane is waved off... or bolters. I'm all the way up to the cat when
I had to be pushed back to take on more fuel. Over my shoulder I watch a squadron mate initiate
a wave off from below flight deck level in full afterburner. A Vigilante lands short and takes out
the 1 wire.
I'm launched and get my fourth trap. Refueling yet again, the LSO radios, "Shadow... Looks like
you're the only game in town. Everyone else has bingoed. We're going to the Admiral (Jim
Stockdale) for a waiver if you think you can hack it. It's up to you." Normally, four traps in one
night was the max allowed.
At that point, I believe exhaustion overcame fear; along with that little devil on my shoulder
saying, "I'd rather die than look bad". I said, "Fuck it...Let's do it." No sooner were the words
out of my mouth than from the back cockpit, Okie tersely says, "Hey . . don't I get a vote?"
I went on and completed my initial night qualification; six cats, six traps, all in one very long
night. As we shut down, I was numb from exhaustion and all the way back to the ready room, a
six foot conscience—my backseater—is nipping at my heels and telling me how freakin' stupid
we were to do it.
Flatley had waited for us in the ready room. He shakes my hand and says, "We did it... great
job... what'ya think"?
White as a sheet, I responded, "Honestly CAG, the last one was just as scary as the
first one and it never got any better."
He laughed and hit me with the old cliché, "If you ain't scared, you don't belong here." We were
invited us up to his room for a toddy.
Amazing how drunk you can get off one drink when you're ragged out. On the way out of his
room to my own rack, I turned and said, "CAG, I hope you never are the duty weather pilot
again, 'cause you're a lying SOB.... Workable my ass... the highest I broke out the entire night
was 150 feet"!
He just looked at me, smiled and said, "Go on, get outta here."
To this day, whenever I cross paths with Jim Flatley, I point him out and say, "You see that man
over there? He's a lying SOB. 'Workable', my ass."
He gives me that same twinkling smile every time, feigns ignorance and says: "Get outta here."
Shadow
Post script...
Flatley and I were the only two airplanes to land successfully that night out of the entire Air
Wing... and my last four traps were with only three wires when the Vigi (like the Midway) took
out the one wire... Now I don't know if someone else has gotten six in one night... but I'd be
willing to bet that no one did it under such bad conditions as we did that night. And of all the
things I've done in an airplane... that night put me in one of the smallest fraternities in the
world... and by gosh... I'm proud of it.
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