TheList 7003

The List 7003     TGB

To All,

.Good Tuesday morning 12 November. Yesterday was busy. I failed in my attempt to fix one of our toilets and the plumber is coming this morning along with a new toilet. We also have some more new windows coming for the house. Ran into a lot of folks yesterday and exchanged some "Thank you for your service ". Between Walmart, Cosco, Home Depot and a few others and late lunch at Islands it was a full day.

The older dog is doing better this morning and that is a good thing.

.Weather continues to be very nice here and hope you all have the same

Make it a GREAT Day

Regards,

Skip

 

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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 84 H-Grams  .

Today in Naval and Marine Corps History .

 Nov. 12

1912—Lt. Theodore Ellyson makes the first successful launch of an airplane (A-3) by catapult at the Washington Navy Yard.

1940—Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Harold R. Stark, submits the memorandum to Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox with four war plans if the United States enters World War II. Stark recommends the fourth war plan, "Plan Dog," calling for a strong offensive in the Atlantic and defense in the Pacific.

1942—The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal begins with Japanese air attacks on U.S. ships bringing reinforcements to the embattled island. Over the next four days, Japan loses the battleships Hiei and Kirishima, heavy cruiser Kinugasa, three destroyers and many valuable transports. Two U.S. light cruisers, Atlanta and Juneau, and seven destroyers are sunk. Japan's losses weaken their ability to strengthen their garrison on Guadalcanal, enabling the U.S. to shift from the defensive to the offensive in this campaign.

1942—Lt. Cmdr. Bruce McCandless displays superb initiative by assuming command of the USS San Francisco (CA 38) during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal after all other personnel on the navigating and signal bridges were rendered unconscious, killed, or wounded. McCandless boldly continues to engage the enemy, leading the San Francisco to victory. He is later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

1943—President Franklin D. Roosevelt embarks on USS Iowa (BB 61) to attend the Allied conferences at Tehran, Iran, and Cairo.

1943—PB4Y-1 (VB-103) sinks German submarine U-508 in the Bay of Biscay. Prior to this, U-508 sank 14 Allied vessels, including the American merchant SS Nathaniel Hawthorne Nov. 7, 1942. 

 

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Today in World History November 12

1035    King Canute of Norway dies.

1276    Suspicious of the intentions of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the Prince of Wales, English King Edward I resolves to invade Wales.

1859    The first flying-trapeze circus act is performed by Jules Leotard at the Circus Napoleon.

1863    Confederate General James Longstreet arrives at Loudon, Tennessee, to assist the attack on Union General Ambrose Burnside's troops at Knoxville.

1867    Mount Vesuvius erupts.

1903    The Lebaudy brothers of France set an air-travel distance record of 34 miles in a dirigible.

1923    Adolf Hitler is arrested for his attempted German coup.

1927    Canada is admitted to the League of Nations.

1928    The ocean liner Vestris sinks off the Virginia cape with 328 aboard, killing 111.

1938    Mexico agrees to compensate the United States for land seizures.

1941    Madame Lillian Evanti and Mary Cardwell Dawson establish the National Negro Opera Company.

1944    U.S. fighters wipe out a Japanese convoy near Leyte, consisting of six destroyers, four transports and 8,000 troops.

1944    The German battleship Tirpitz is sunk in a Norwegian fjord.

1948    Hikedi Tojo, Japanese prime minister, and seven others are sentenced to hang by an international tribunal.

1951    The U.S. Eighth Army in Korea is ordered to cease offensive operations and begin an active defense.

1960    The satellite Discoverer XVII is launched into orbit from California's Vandenberg AFB.

1968    The U.S. Supreme Court voids an Arkansas law banning the teaching of evolution in public schools.

1971    President Richard Nixon announces the withdrawal of about 45,000 U.S. troops from Vietnam by February.

1987    Boris Yeltsin is fired as head of Moscow's Communist Party for criticizing the slow pace of reform.

1990    Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan.

1990    Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, publishes a formal proposal for the creation of the World Wide Web.

1996    A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 collides with a Kazakh Illyushin II-76 cargo plane near New Delhi, killing 349. It is the deadliest mid-air collision to date (2013) and third-deadliest aircraft accident.

1997    Ramzi Yousef convicted of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

2003    The first Italians to die in the Iraq War are among 23 fatalities from a suicide bomb attack on an Italian police base in Nasiriya, iraq.

2003    Shanghai Transrapid sets a new world speed record (311 mph or 501 kph) for commercial railway systems

 

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Thanks to the Bear. .

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER ….

. rollingthunderremembered.com .

 

Thanks to Micro

To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip

 

From Vietnam Air Losses site for Tuesday November 12

12-Nov:  https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=330

 

This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip 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

 

MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War

The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature.

 

  https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )

 

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Thanks to many of you who sent me the Quote from Eleanor Roosevelt about Marines

"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!"

― Eleanor Roosevelt

 

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. From the archives

: The Story Behind "My Way"

Thanks to Micro and to Cowboy for finding the url This has been around before, but it's worth a second look.

Please read the story below before you watch the video

While Canadian singer-songwriter legend from Ottawa, Paul Anka, has left a long trail of hits over his 60-year career, he admits that, early on, he was terrified to pen a tune for Frank Sinatra.

"He'd always tease me, 'hey kid, when are you going to write me a song?'" Anka remembers. "But I couldn't. I was scared to death. I was writing all this teen stuff."

Of course, there are few music lovers today who aren't familiar with the poignant ballad Anka eventually crafted for Sinatra, "My Way". Some dub it the most powerful of Anka's many earworms, which also include classics like "Puppy Love", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" and even Johnny Carson's theme song for "The Tonight Show".

Anka didn't think twice 55 years ago when Sinatra called him out of the blue and declared, "kid, we're going to dinner". When Sinatra says "we're going to dinner, you drop everything and you go to dinner", recalls Paul, who, as a budding Vegas headliner in the 1960s, had a friendly tie with the Rat Pack. During the meal, Sinatra dropped a stunning surprise: He was about to quit showbiz.

"He said, 'I've had it. I'm fed up. But I'm doing one more album," Anka remembers. "He said, 'and you never wrote me that song".  Anka felt the pressure. Still reeling over the news at 1 am in his apartment, he found himself toying with lyrics to a melody he had heard in France. "I thought, 'What would Frank do with this melody, if he were a writer?'" Anka says. "And all of a sudden, it just came to me: 'And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain'".

He finished the song at 5 am and called Sinatra on the spot, promising him a song for his final album. "I knew I had something I wouldn't be afraid to give him", Anka says. The next day, he recorded a demo of the song and flew to Las Vegas, where Sinatra lived. "I played him the song and he looked at me and said, 'I'm doing it'".

Two months later, Sinatra called Anka again. This time, with better news. "He says, 'kid, listen to this,' and puts the phone up to the speaker", Anka remembers. "I heard 'My Way' playing for the first time, and I started to cry".  Paul Anka never knew what a legacy he had created when, at the request of Ol' Blue Eyes, he wrote this song for Frank's (presumed) retirement.

Frank Sinatra had a mega-smash hit with it, followed by the Three Tenors, Pavarotti, and numerous other big stars who covered the song over the years.

In this video, 10 superb voices, an amazing orchestra, plus piano, saxophone, electric guitar, and extra choral support go well beyond doing justice to Anka's composition. The singers are Dutch, and you will notice that the majority of the orchestra are women. The performance is fantastic.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FDOAz_6OQk

 

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From the archives

. TAPS bugle call history and unofficial lyrics

 

Echo from Tam

May you find a day of true peace and be honored by this grateful nation on this Veterans Day.

From this military family to yours

Tam

 

https://www.usmemorialday.org/taps

 

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. Thanks to Carl

 

Grumman veterans struggle to maintain aircraft legacy - The Suffolk Times

 

https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2023/11/grumman-veterans-struggle-to-maintain-aircraft-legacy/

 

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Thanks to History Facts

 It took the Oxford English Dictionary editors five years just to reach the word "ant."

. The Oxford English Dictionary, also known as simply the OED, is a massive reference book containing not just words — including obsolete ones — and their definitions, but also detailed information on the words' history and usage. The project was born in 1857, when the Philological Society of London, a group dedicated to the history of literature and words, established a committee to collect words that didn't appear in existing dictionaries at the time. Their goal was to document the English language going back to Anglo-Saxon times, which ended around 1000 CE — so quite a lot of territory to cover.

 

 

Work started in earnest in 1879, after Oxford University Press signed on to finance and publish the dictionary, at the time called the New English Dictionary (NED). The staff buckled down and got to work reading and researching; editor James Murray estimated the dictionary would take about 10 years to compile. In 1884, after working on the dictionary for five years, the first fascicle (meaning a part of a book) came out. It only covered the words "a" through "ant."

 

The project was clearly more ambitious than the Philological Society had originally imagined. Murray started working on the dictionary full time, and over the next several years he was joined by another editor and two co-editors. The last fascicle was published on April 19, 1928, nearly 50 years after work began. The original plan was for the dictionary to contain 6,400 pages over four volumes; ultimately, the first edition of the NED contained 12 volumes with 15,487 pages, covering a whopping 414,825 words. Today, the OED continues to document the growing English language, and includes more than 600,000 entries, with new words and meanings added regularly.

 

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Thanks to Brett….catching up with what has been going on in the world

Stratfor snippets - Israel/Lebanon, Qatar/Israel/Palestinian Territories, U.K./France, Ecuador, Russia/Ukraine/North Korea, Haiti. Somalia/Ethiopia, Global, China/Indonesia,

 

Israel, Lebanon: Israel's New Defense Minister Pushes for Cease-Fire With 'Defeated' Hezbollah

What Happened: Israel's new Defense Minister Israel Katz said the country had "defeated" Lebanon's Hezbollah, in part by assassinating its top leaders like Hassan Nasrallah, in comments made to media on Nov. 10 at a ceremony in which Gideon Saar replaced Katz as foreign minister, NBC News reported the next day. Katz called on an international coalition to take advantage of the military conditions in Lebanon to enact a cease-fire and pledged that Israel would not interfere in internal Lebanese affairs.

Why It Matters: Katz's comments align with the Israeli military assessment that Hezbollah is diminished, but the group will continue to demand concessions to which Israel is unlikely to agree, like ending the campaign in Gaza. As a result, a cease-fire in Lebanon remains unlikely for now, although it would become more likely if Israel agreed to allow Hezbollah to remain in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, an open-ended campaign in Lebanon will eventually weaken public support for the Israeli government.

Background: Israel wants a Lebanese military- and U.N.-enforced informal buffer zone in southern Lebanon that Hezbollah will not use for future operations. However, Hezbollah has pledged to continue to fight Israel unless it ends its campaign in Gaza, while hardliners in Hezbollah demand revenge for Israel's pager attacks and assassination campaign. In addition, the Israel-Iran conflict incentivizes Hezbollah to continue attacks.

 

Qatar, Israel, Palestinian Territories: Doha Suspends Mediation Efforts, Reportedly Expels Hamas

What Happened: Qatar suspended its role as a mediator in negotiations between Hamas and Israel due to a lack of progress in recent rounds, though it held open the possibility to resume its role if there was a willingness to end the war, CNN reported Nov. 9. According to both U.S. and Qatari sources, Doha has reportedly agreed to expel Hamas from the country after the U.S. request, though details on when this would occur and to where Hamas's Politburo would relocate are unclear.

Why It Matters: While Qatar is still positioned to resume its role in ceasefire negotiations, neither Israel nor Hamas are likely to be willing to change their stances to reach an agreement, likely resulting in a longer suspension of Qatar's role. In addition, there is still no clear successor for Hamas, which could result in factionalization both within the group's leadership and for ceasefire negotiations, thereby complicating potential future talks. Furthermore, the reported expulsion of Hamas from Doha will reduce Qatar's leverage over the group, thus reducing its diplomatic capital in future negotiations. While Turkey, Iraq and Syria have been rumored as possibilities for places Hamas could relocate to, there would be U.S. backlash if Hamas relocated to Turkey or Iraq, and such a move risks an expansion of Israel's assassination campaign of Hamas officials to these countries. In a less likely scenario, Oman could host Hamas as part of its efforts to expand its diplomatic capital and act as a regional mediator, but this would require the United States' support.

Background: In late October 2023, Qatar reportedly suggested it was open to reconsidering Hamas's presence in the country following hostage negotiations. However, recent rounds of ceasefire and hostage negotiations have stalled with very few positive signs. There have been previous proposals, including recent ones for a temporary ceasefire, which have not gained traction from either Hamas or Israel. Furthermore, despite some success with the November temporary pause in fighting and hostage release, Qatar's role as a mediator has drawn criticism from the Netanyahu administration. In January, a leaked recording of Netanyahu called Qatar's role in negotiations "problematic" and criticized Qatar for not pressuring Hamas enough.

 

U.K., France: Starmer and Macron Pledge Unity on European Defense and Support for Ukraine

What Happened: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France, and discussed bilateral and broader European cooperation on a range of issues, including stemming illegal migration across the English Channel and the likely implications of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's second term on the war in Ukraine and Europe's defense, the BBC reported on Nov. 11. The two leaders reportedly agreed to put Ukraine in the "strongest possible position going into the winter," according to a spokesperson for the British government.

Why It Matters: Starmer's visit to Paris is of particular symbolic importance amid heightened uncertainty for European unity on defense, support for Ukraine and trade relations in the wake of Trump's reelection. Macron and Starmer have pledged to maintain a united front by maintaining military and financial support for Kyiv's war effort, potentially pressuring the outgoing U.S. Biden administration to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles against targets in Russia, and discussing increased post-Brexit EU-U.K. cooperation, including on defense and trade. Against this backdrop, the United Kingdom will have to play a delicate balancing act between its goal of "resetting" relations with Brussels under a Labour government and maintaining its "special relationship" with Washington that could spare it from likely U.S. tariffs, an especially challenging task as EU-U.S. relations are likely to deteriorate over the coming four years.

Background: The meeting between Starmer and Macron comes amid growing concerns in Europe over the future of transatlantic relations following Trump's victory in the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election. Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump pledged to implement tariff hikes of between 10% and 20% for all goods entering the United States — including from allied countries like the United Kingdom and EU member states — and to end the war with Russia "in one day," while questioning U.S. commitments to NATO and Europe's security more broadly.

 

Ecuador: Vice President's Suspension Indicates Growing Political Instability Ahead of Election

What Happened: Ecuador's Labor Ministry suspended Vice President Veronica Abad for 150 days over claims that she abandoned her duties by arriving for an appointment in Turkey in September five days late, El Pais reported on Nov. 11. Abad argued the ruling was irregular since administrative sanctions should not apply to elected officials and claimed that the government was preparing a coup by preventing her from taking office while President Daniel Noboa campaigns for reelection.

Why It Matters: Since Noboa controls the government, he will likely successfully sideline Abad and run for reelection while a close ally retains the presidency. In the meantime, Ecuador will likely continue to face political instability amid the disputes between its president and vice president, heightened social discontent with fiscal adjustments implemented on the back of the International Monetary Fund's recommendations, rolling blackouts, and an escalating security crisis amid the growing presence of organized criminal groups. Businesses will likely face uncertainty throughout the electoral period and operational and safety risks stemming from likely anti-government protests, which will disrupt traffic and result in occasional clashes with police forces.

Background: Noboa and Abad were independently elected by popular vote and have remained at odds since taking office in November 2023. Noboa appointed Abad as ambassador to Israel to sideline her from his administration, and in August Abad denounced him for gender violence before the country's highest electoral court, aiming to disqualify him from running for reelection. Ecuador will hold a general election on Feb. 9. The campaign period starts on Jan. 5, and a run-off presidential vote is scheduled for April 13. There are 16 candidates in the presidential race, and Noboa is leading the race with approximately 30% of voters' support, according to different polls.

 

Russia, Ukraine, North Korea: Russia To Step Up Attacks on Kursk in Coming Days

What Happened: According to Ukrainian officials and a new U.S. assessment, 50,000 Russian and North Korean forces will begin a renewed assault on Ukrainian positions in Russia's Kursk region in the coming days, The New York Times reported on Nov. 10. Meanwhile, reports indicate that Ukraine has redirected additional troops to Kursk.

Why It Matters: Ukrainian forces in Kursk likely number over 15,000 and will likely prove capable of holding the salient for the coming weeks, despite Russia's renewed offensive. Kyiv has strong drivers to remain in Kursk, as it will continue to use the incursion to argue for greater support from Western partners, including the allowance of long-range strikes inside Russia. However, as Russian pressure on the area grows, Ukraine will eventually run out of additional troops to reinforce its position, particularly amid Russia's ongoing advances in Ukraine's Donbas region. As a result, Ukraine will be forced to decrease the size of the Kursk incursion and fall back to more defensible positions as it determines its forces are better used to defend the Donbas. This means Ukraine could withdraw from Kursk later this winter, which would be a significant political blow to the Ukrainian government and would fuel narratives in the West that Ukraine is losing the war.

Background: Russian troops covering the front line in the Kursk region have been estimated at around 40,000 since September. The Pentagon has confirmed that North Korean troops will participate in combat.

 

Haiti: Transitional Presidential Council Dismissed Interim Prime Minister

What Happened: Haiti's transitional presidential council dismissed interim Prime Minister Garry Conille and plans to replace him with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime, The Guardian reported on Nov. 10. Conille criticized the move, which eight of the council's nine members approved, saying it was "taken outside any legal and constitutional framework."

Why It Matters: Conille's removal is the culmination of weeks of elevated tensions between the ousted prime minister and the transitional presidential council, specifically over efforts by the council to pressure Conille into changing some of his Cabinet members. The sides were also at odds over Conille's view that three council members publicly named in corruption allegations should be removed from their positions. Conille's ousting and the political tension preceding it confirms that political dysfunction is rampant within Haiti's transitional government, threatening to undermine the transitional presidential council's legitimacy, straining the body's ability to govern effectively and increasing the likelihood of a full government collapse, a longstanding concern amid Haiti's yearslong political and security crisis.

Background: Only former Sen. Edgard Leblanc Fils, who led the transitional presidential council before the leadership transferred to Leslie Voltaire, did not sign the order to dismiss Conille. Fils-Aime has had much less government experience than Conille, who was Haiti's prime minister for less than a year from 2011-12. Conille was chosen as prime minister in April after former acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned amid an escalation in the country's security crisis as gang violence worsened in February.

 

Somalia, Ethiopia: Somalia Officially Bars Ethiopia From New AU Mission

What Happened: Somalia's defense ministry confirmed on Nov. 8 that Ethiopian forces will not be part of the upcoming African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, or AUSSOM, which will replace the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia peacekeeping mission in January 2025, BBC Amharic reported on Nov. 10. This decision follows repeated requests by Somali officials, including the president, for Ethiopian troops to withdraw, citing sovereignty concerns linked to Ethiopia's recent agreement with Somaliland.

Why It Matters: The official barring of Ethiopian troops underscores rising tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia. If Ethiopian forces fail to withdraw by December 2024, escalatory scenarios are likely, with expected resistance from Somali states like Jubbaland and South West, where Ethiopian troops are primarily stationed. This could lead to clashes between Ethiopian and Somali forces and, in a more extreme scenario, with Egyptian soldiers expected to join AUSSOM in 2025. Clashes would likely create a security vacuum, which al Shabaab could exploit for attacks within Somalia and neighboring countries such as Kenya.

Background: Ethiopia and Somalia are facing a growing diplomatic dispute sparked by Ethiopia's controversial decision in January to sign a deal with Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, to grant Ethiopia access to the Red Sea port of Berbera for both commercial and military purposes. Ethiopia has 8,000 to 10,000 troops under the African Union mission and through a bilateral agreement with Somalia.

Global: COP29 Negotiators Reach Deal on Rules for Global Carbon Market Framework

 

What Happened: Negotiators attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP29, endorsed new quality standards for carbon credits, which are essential for the U.N.-backed global carbon credit market, without significant discussion on the matter, the Guardian reported on Nov. 12.

Why It Matters: The pushing through of the deal is a significant step toward opening up more climate finance opportunities for developing countries, though critics have lamented its passing without debate on the first day of the conference. Global carbon markets are viewed as a way to unlock climate finance opportunities for developing countries, as they would enable countries to trade carbon credits generated from reducing their emissions to other countries to meet their climate goals. Critics complain that low-quality carbon credits do not necessarily represent genuine emissions reductions and removals and that they even incentivize companies and countries to trade for additional emissions allowances instead of making more impactful investments in decarbonization.

Background: COP29 kicked off on Nov. 11, and the agreement on so-called Article 6 regarding carbon credits is the conference's first major deal. Other major issues to be discussed include Western countries' new climate finance mobilization target, dubbed the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance, for the developing world and funding for the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, which is designed to help pay losses and damages due to climate change in the developing world.

China, Indonesia: Countries Reach $10B in Deals but Produce Diplomatic Headache

 

What Happened: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Chinese President Xi Jinping oversaw the signing of $10 billion worth of deals across multiple sectors including green energy, technology, infrastructure, critical minerals, fisheries and mining, Reuters reported on Nov. 10. Additionally, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on joint maritime development in the Natuna Sea.

Why It Matters: These agreements reinforce mutual inter-reliance, with Indonesian resources like nickel feeding China's need for electric vehicle battery components while Chinese refining helps move Indonesia's manufacturing up the value chain. Moreover, these moves further cement Chinese dominance over Indonesian nickel refining and deepen its integration with Indonesian digital technology. However, diplomatically, the joint maritime development proposal for the Natuna Sea within Indonesia's exclusive economic zone acknowledged "overlapping claims," a first for Jakarta, which risks implicitly acknowledging China's disputed maritime claims and undermining Indonesia's position in future international negotiations. By appearing to entertain China's territorial claims, Indonesia also risks alienating other claimants like Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Background: Key agreements include a Green Mineral Resources Partnership to secure critical minerals for renewable energy, a $1.4 billion nickel-processing plant for electric vehicle batteries and cooperation in cloud computing. China's "10-dash line" claim overlaps with Indonesia's exclusive economic zone. Indonesia rejected China's claims in 2016 and has until now refused to acknowledge the existence of a dispute.

 

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THANKS TO 1440

 

Trump Team Rollout

President-elect Donald Trump's future administration has begun taking shape with a wave of recently announced picks.

 

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R, NY-21)—a vocal supporter of Israel—has been tapped to serve as the US ambassador to the United Nations. Former New York congressman Lee Zeldin (R) was selected to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Both Cabinet-level roles are likely to secure confirmation from the Republican-led Senate.

 

In the White House, Trump picked longtime strategist Susie Wiles for chief of staff, the first woman to fill the role, and yesterday named adviser and speechwriter Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff. Trump also named Rep. Mike Waltz (R, FL-6)—a hardliner on China—to serve as his national security adviser.

 

Tom Homan—a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement official under the Obama and Trump administrations—was selected for the unofficial role of border czar, including overseeing maritime and aviation security. Homan's role won't require Senate confirmation.

 

The announcements come as control of the House remains undetermined. As of this writing, Republicans hold 214 of 218 seats needed for a majority, and Democrats hold 205 seats. .

 

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This Day in U S Military History

 

1912 – Robert Scott's diary and dead body were found in Antarctica.

 

1912 – LT Theodore Ellyson makes first successful launching of an airplane (A-3) by catapult at the Washington Navy Yard.

 

1940 – CNO Admiral Stark submits memorandum to Secretary of the Navy on 4 plans if U.S. enters war. He favors the fourth one, Plan Dog, calling for strong offensive in the Atlantic and defense in the Pacific.

 

1942 – The World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. A large American convoy carrying supplies and reinforcements retreats upon the approach of a large Japanese naval force. The Japanese carry out air attacks on the American land positions as well as their shipping.

 

1943 – The Japanese carrier aircraft stationed at Rabaul on New Britain are withdrawn. Of the 173 planes committed, 121 have been lost, with many pilots.

 

1948 – An international war crimes tribunal in Tokyo passes death sentences on seven Japanese military and government officials, including General Hideki Tojo, who served as premier of Japan from 1941 to 1944. Eight days before, the trial ended after 30 months with all 25 Japanese defendants being found guilty of breaching the laws and customs of war. In addition to the death sentences imposed on Tojo and others principals, such as Iwane Matsui, who organized the Rape of Nanking, and Heitaro Kimura, who brutalized Allied prisoners of war, 16 others were sentenced to life imprisonment. The remaining two of the 25 defendants were sentenced to lesser terms in prison. Unlike the Nuremberg trial of German war criminals, where there were four chief prosecutors representing Great Britain, France, the United States, and the USSR, the Tokyo trial featured only one chief prosecutor–American Joseph B. Keenan, a former assistant to the U.S. attorney general. However, other nations, especially China, contributed to the proceedings, and Australian judge William Flood Webb presided. In addition to the central Tokyo trial, various tribunals sitting outside Japan judged some 5,000 Japanese guilty of war crimes, of whom more than 900 were executed.

 

1980 – The U.S. space probe Voyager 1 came within 77,000 miles of Saturn. More than three years after its launch, the U.S. planetary probe Voyager 1 edges within 77,000 miles of Saturn, the second-largest planet in the solar system. The photos, beamed 950 million miles back to California, stunned scientists. The high-resolution images showed a world that seemed to confound all known laws of physics. Saturn had not six, but hundreds of rings. The rings appeared to dance, buckle, and interlock in ways never thought possible. Two rings were intertwined, or "braided," and pictures showed dark radial "spokes" moving inside the rings in the direction of rotation. Voyager 2, a sister spacecraft, arrived at Saturn in August 1981. The Voyagers also discovered three new moons around Saturn and a substantial atmosphere around Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Voyager 1 was preceded to Saturn by Pioneer 11, a smaller and less sophisticated U.S. spacecraft that flew by the gas giant in September 1979. The Voyager spacecrafts were equipped with high-resolution television cameras that sent back more than 30,000 images of Saturn, its rings, and satellite. Voyager 1 was actually launched 16 days after Voyager 2, but its trajectory followed a quicker path to the outer planets. Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter in March 1979, followed by Voyager 2 four months later. Both spacecraft then continued on to Saturn, with Voyager 1 arriving in November 1980 and Voyager 2 in August 1981. Voyager 2 was then diverted to the remaining gas giants, arriving at Uranus in January 1986 and Neptune in August 1989. Voyager 1, meanwhile, studied interplanetary space and continued on to the edge of the solar system. In February 1998, Voyager 1 became the most distant man-made object from the sun, surpassing the distance of Pioneer 10. Voyager 2 is also traveling out of the solar system but at a slower pace. Both Voyager spacecrafts contain a gold-plated copper disk that has on it recorded sounds and images of Earth. Along with 115 analog images, the disk features sound selections that include greetings in 55 languages, 35 natural and man-made sounds, and portions of 27 musical pieces. The Voyagers are expected to remain operable until about the year 2020, periodically sending back data on the edge of the solar system.

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

 

EVERHART, FORREST E.

Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company H, 359th Infantry, 90th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Kerling, France, 12 November 1944. Entered service at: Texas City, Tex. Birth: Bainbridge, Ohio. G.O. No.: 77, 10 September 1945. Citation: He commanded a platoon that bore the brunt of a desperate enemy counterattack near Korling, France, before dawn on 12 November 1944. When German tanks and self-propelled guns penetrated his left flank and overwhelming infantry forces threatened to overrun the 1 remaining machinegun in that section, he ran 400 yards through woods churned by artillery and mortar concentrations to strengthen the defense. With the 1 remaining gunner, he directed furious fire into the advancing hordes until they swarmed close to the position. He left the gun, boldly charged the attackers and, after a 15-minute exchange of hand grenades, forced them to withdraw leaving 30 dead behind. He re-crossed the fire-swept terrain to his then threatened right flank, exhorted his men and directed murderous fire from the single machinegun at that position. There, in the light of bursting mortar shells, he again closed with the enemy in a hand grenade duel and, after a fierce 30-minute battle, forced the Germans to withdraw leaving another 20 dead. The gallantry and intrepidity of T/Sgt. Everhart in rallying his men and refusing to fall back in the face of terrible odds were highly instrumental in repelling the fanatical enemy counterattack directed at the American bridgehead across the Moselle River.

 

*SAYERS, FOSTER J.

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company L, 357th Infantry, 90th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Thionville, France, 12 November 1944. Entered service at: Howard, Pa. Birth: Marsh Creek, Pa. G.O. No.: 89, 19 October 1945. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty in combat on 12 November 1944, near Thionville, France. During an attack on strong hostile forces entrenched on a hill he fearlessly ran up the steep approach toward his objective and set up his machinegun 20 yards from the enemy. Realizing it would be necessary to attract full attention of the dug-in Germans while his company crossed an open area and flanked the enemy, he picked up his gun, charged through withering machinegun and rifle fire to the very edge of the emplacement, and there killed 12 German soldiers with devastating close-range fire. He took up a position behind a log and engaged the hostile infantry from the flank in an heroic attempt to distract their attention while his comrades attained their objective at the crest of the hill. He was killed by the very heavy concentration of return fire; but his fearless assault enabled his company to sweep the hill with minimum of casualties, killing or capturing every enemy soldier on it. Pfc. Sayers' indomitable fighting spirit, aggressiveness, and supreme devotion to duty live on as an example of the highest traditions of the military service.

 

*BARNES, JOHN ANDREW III

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 1st Battalion, 503d Infantry 173d Airborne Brigade. Place and date: Dak To, Republic of Vietnam, 12 November 1967. Entered service at: Boston, Mass. Born: 16 April 1945, Boston, Mass. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Barnes distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while engaged in combat against hostile forces. Pfc. Barnes was serving as a grenadier when his unit was attacked by a North Vietnamese force, estimated to be a battalion. Upon seeing the crew of a machine gun team killed, Pfc. Barnes, without hesitation, dashed through the bullet swept area, manned the machine gun, and killed 9 enemy soldiers as they assaulted his position. While pausing just long enough to retrieve more ammunition, Pfc. Barnes observed an enemy grenade thrown into the midst of some severely wounded personnel close to his position. Realizing that the grenade could further injure or kill the majority of the wounded personnel, he sacrificed his life by throwing himself directly onto the hand grenade as it exploded. Through his indomitable courage, complete disregard for his own safety, and profound concern for his fellow soldiers, he averted a probable loss of life and injury to the wounded members of his unit. Pfc. Barnes' extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity at the cost of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

 

*DIAS, RALPH E.

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, 3d Platoon, Company D, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein) FMF. Place and date: Que Son Mountains, Republic of Vietnam, 12 November 1969. Entered service at: Pittsburgh, Pa. Born: 15 July 1950, Shelocta, Indiana County, Pa. Citation: As a member of a reaction force which was pinned down by enemy fire while assisting a platoon in the same circumstance, Pfc. Dias, observing that both units were sustaining casualties, initiated an aggressive assault against an enemy machine gun bunker which was the principal source of hostile fire. Severely wounded by enemy snipers while charging across the open area, he pulled himself to the shelter of a nearby rock. Braving enemy fire for a second time, Pfc. Dias was again wounded. Unable to walk, he crawled 15 meters to the protection of a rock located near his objective and, repeatedly exposing himself to intense hostile fire, unsuccessfully threw several hand grenades at the machine gun emplacement. Still determined to destroy the emplacement, Pfc. Dias again moved into the open and was wounded a third time by sniper fire. As he threw a last grenade which destroyed the enemy position, he was mortally wounded by another enemy round. Pfc. Dias' indomitable courage, dynamic initiative, and selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service to his country.

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for November 12,  FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

 12 November

1909: Wanamaker's Department Store in Philadelphia advertised "Flying Machines for Sale." The ad offered a Bleriot plane, a duplicate of the one that flew the English Channel, for $5,000 in connection with an exhibit of the Bleriot. (24)

1912: Lt Theodore G. Ellyson made the second and successful catapult launching in a Curtiss seaplane from a float at the Washington Navy Yard. (21)

1921: FIRST AIR-TO-AIR REFUELING. Wesley May, with a 5-gallon can of gasoline strapped to his back, stepped from the wing of a Lincoln Standard to the wing skid of a JN-4 and climbed to the engine to pour gas into the tank. Frank Hawks flew the Lincoln and Earl S. Daugherty the JN-4. (18) (24)

1941: First launching of an experimental GB-8 Glide Bomb with radio controls. (24)

1942: Under the leadership of Lt Gen Lewis H. Brereton, Ninth Air Force started combat operations in Egypt to support British efforts in North Africa. (21) (24)

1944: The largest air and ground cooperative effort to date occurred as over 4,000 Allied planes dropped more than 10,000 tons of bombs on enemy targets.

1950: Pan American World Airways finished a global radiotelephone communications system. The system had 19,687 miles of voice radio link and 32 high frequency radio ground stations on 16 islands and continents. (24)

1952: KOREAN WAR. Through 13 November, six B-29s from the 98th Bombardment Wing knocked four spans out of Pyongyang's restored railway bridges. (28)

1956: A USMC twin-engine Sikorsky S-56 helicopter set a 162.7 MPH speed record at Stratford. (24)

1960: To launch the Discoverer XVII into polar orbit from Vandenberg AFB, the USAF used a restartable Agena B in combination with a Thor rocket. This marked the first successful flight of a restartable rocket. (24)

1965: Last QF-80 drone in the USAF shot down at Holloman AFB. The USAF picked eight aerospace research pilots for assignment to the Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program. (16)

1970: At Edwards AFB, a Boeing 747-B set a world record with a gross takeoff weight of 820,700 pounds to better the C-5A's 14 October 1969 unofficial record of 798,000 pounds. (3)

1980: Exercise BRIGHT STAR. Through 25 November, elements of the new Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force participated in its first joint overseas exercise. Eight A-7s from the 150 TFG at Kirtland AFB deployed to Cairo West, Egypt. (4) (26) For the first time, USAFE tasked an entire wing, the 50 TFW at Hahn AB, Germany, to exercise its full wartime mission in a chemical environment for a sustained period. (26)

1997: The Boeing Phantom Works (formerly McDonnell-Douglas in St. Louis) X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft successfully completed its flight research program for NASA at Edwards AFB. (3)

1998: Operation PHOENIX SCORPION III. After Saddam Hussein expelled UN weapons inspectors from Iraq, the DoD ordered more US forces to Southwest Asia using AMC airlifters through 15 November. The Clinton administration accepted Iraq's peace overtures on 14 November to end the deployment. During the four-day effort, AMC completed 257 airlift and tanker missions to move more than 3,000 passengers and 2,700 short tons of cargo. Tankers refueled 90 aircraft, offloading 9.3 million pounds of fuel. (22)

 

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