To All,
Good Wednesday morning December 4, 2024. The weather guessers are still at it. They describe a perfectly clear view and I can barely see the house about 200 yards behind me. A typical foggy start to the day. A year ago on this date we had List 6666. It will be a while until 7777. Happy Hump Day.
Regards,
Skip
Make it a GREAT 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 84 H-Grams
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History
December 4
1918—President Woodrow Wilson sails aboard the transport George Washington for the Paris Peace Conference.
1943—TBF aircraft from USS Lexington (CV 16), USS Independence (CVL 22), and USS Yorktown (CV 10) attack Kwajalein Atoll and sink the Japanese vessels Asakaze Maru, Tateyama Maru, Takunan Maru, and Mikuni Maru.
1944—USS Flasher (SS 249) sinks Japanese destroyer Kishinami and damages a merchant ship in the South China Sea. Flasher is the only U.S. submarine to sink more than 100,000 tons of enemy shipping in World War II.
1950—While serving with VF-32 from USS Leyte (CV 32) during the Korean War, Lt. j.g. Thomas J. Hudner crash-lands his plane near the Chosin reservoir in an effort to rescue Ensign Jesse L. Brown, another VF-32 pilot whose plane had been shot down. Hudner is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions.
1965—Gemini 7 is launched. The mission's command pilot is Air Force Maj. Frank F. Borman and the pilot is Lt. Cmdr. James A. Lovell. This flight consists of 206 orbits at an altitude of 327 km and lasts 13 days and 18 hours.
On December 4, 1991, Islamic militants in Lebanon release kidnapped American journalist Terry Anderson after 2,454 days in captivity.
As chief Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press, Anderson covered the long-running civil war in Lebanon (1975-1990). On March 16, 1985, he was kidnapped on a west Beirut street while leaving a tennis court. His captors took him to the southern suburbs of the city, where he was held prisoner in an underground dungeon for the next six-and-a-half years.
Anderson was one of 92 foreigners (including 17 Americans) abducted during Lebanon's bitter civil war. The kidnappings were linked to Hezbollah, or the Party of God, a militant Shiite Muslim organization formed in 1982 in reaction to Israel's military presence in Lebanon. They seized several Americans, including Anderson, soon after Kuwaiti courts jailed 17 Shiites found guilty of bombing the American and French embassies there in 1983. Hezbollah in Lebanon received financial and spiritual support from Iran.
U.S. relations with Iran—and with Syria, the other major foreign influence in Lebanon—showed signs of improving by 1990, when the civil war drew to a close, aided by Syria's intervention on behalf of the Lebanese army. Eager to win favor from the U.S. in order to promote its own economic goals, Iran used its influence in Lebanon to engineer the release of nearly all the hostages over the course of 1991.
Anderson returned to the U.S. and was reunited with his family, including his daughter Sulome, born three months after his capture. In 1999, he sued the Iranian government for $100 million, accusing it of sponsoring his kidnappers; he received a multi-million dollar settlement.
1998—USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) is commissioned at Philadelphia, PA. The ship is named in honor of the late Marine Corps Colonel Donald G. Cook, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam while held as prisoner for three years by the Viet Cong.
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Today in World History
December 4
771 With the death of his brother Carloman, Charlemagne becomes sole ruler of the Frankish Empire.
1861 The U.S. Senate, voting 36 to 0, expels Senator John C. Brekinridge of Kentucky because of his joining the Confederate Army.
1861 Queen Victoria of Britain forbids the export of gunpowder, firearms and all materials for their production.
1862 Winchester, Va., falls into Union hands, resulting in the capture of 145 Southern soldiers.
1863 Seven solid days of bombardment ends at Charleston, S.C. The Union fires some 1,307 rounds.
1872 The U.S. brigantine Marie Celeste is found adrift and deserted with its cargo intact, in the Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and Portugal.
1900 The French National Assembly, successor to the States-General, rejects Nationalist General Mercier's proposal to plan an invasion of England.
1914 The first Seaplane Unit formed by the German Navy officially comes into existence and begins operations from Zeebrugge, Belgium.
1918 France cancels trade treaties in order to compete in the postwar economic battles.
1941 Operation Taifun (Typhoon), which was launched by the German armies on October 2, 1941, as a prelude to taking Moscow, is halted because of freezing temperatures and lack of serviceable aircraft.
1942 U.S. planes make the first raids on Naples, Italy.
1947 Tennessee William's play A Streetcar Named Desire premieres on Broadway starring Marlon Brando and Jessica Tandy.
1950 The University of Tennessee defies court rulings by rejecting five Negro applicants.
1952 The Grumman XS2F-1 makes its first flight.
1959 Peking pardons Pu Yi, ex-emperor of China and of the Japanese puppet-state of Manchukuo.
1981 President Ronald Reagan broadens the power of the CIA by allowing spying in the United States.
1985 Robert McFarland resigns as National Security Advisor. Admiral John Poindexter is named to succeed.
1991 The last American hostages held in Lebanon are released.
1992 US Pres. George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 troops to Somalia during the Somali Civil War.
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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 Wednesday 4 December
December 4: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=917
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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From the archives
Thanks to Santa
I thought I had seen most everything but yesterday "Santa" and I were talking and he mentioned the QT-2. Then he sent me this note
Skip for the list courtesy of Vic Socotra..
Santa
PRIZE CREW Takes Back the Night
The restoration of order was what was at stake in the Mekong Delta long ago, and the answer was a major change in the naval strategy supporting the land war in Indochina. A new and aggressive posture was adopted which called for naval personnel and operational units to be placed in critical lines of interior communication on the river network. In support, intelligence personnel were assigned as liaison officers to critical operational units.
Stopping the night-time infiltration of the Delta and identifying VC forces in concentration was a primary goal of SEALORDS, the forward offensive strategy that brought the war to the enemy in their own back yard.
Lieutenant R.K. Bowers was dispatched by NAVFOR-V to Can Tho, RVN, in the IV Corps area to fly familiarization flights in the O1-E Bird Dog, the military airframe called the "flying jeep." That was among the printable names for the venerable Cessna airplane.
It was said that the 'Dawg was one of the safest airplanes there was since it could just barely fly fast enough to kill the pilot.
The 01-E was used for Forward Air Control missions, which made it simultaneously the most vulnerable and most powerful weapon in the air. Able to call in long-range artillery and tactical aviation with the click of a mike, the unarmed aircraft was flown by aircrewmen who knew both their weakness and their supreme power.
"Alone, unarmed, and unafraid," they said.
After several missions, the LT Bowers was judged ready to participate in the special aerial reconnaissance project. It all seems queerly haphazard in this post-Moonshot age, but it the Vietnam war, like Iraq, was a conflict with strange intimacy and improvisation by both sides far from the Washington acquisition process. The PRIZE CREW demonstration was result of serendipitous collision of requirement and ideas.
The ying-yang of counter-insurgent warfare gave the day to the government, and the night to the insurgents. U.S. Forces reigned supreme in the day, the FACs directing awesome power against anything they could see. At night, though, the land and the enemy became obscure.
The aural and visual signatures of conventional aircraft exceeded far exceeded the detection capabilities of existing sensors. The Bad Guys could almost always hear approaching forces, whether from the air or on the river, and seek cover prior to detection.
As early as 1965 the problem was being worked back in the states. The Director, Defense Research and Engineering was a man named John S. Foster. He challenged the aerospace community to come up with a quiet airframe, and funded it through the Defense Advanced Research and Projects Agency (DARPA). Lockheed Missile and Space Corporation devised a proposal for what became the QT-2 Aircraft.
Engineers have their quirks. The "QT" was a sly play on the 19th century English music hall abbreviation for "quiet;" the engineers called the concept the Quiet Thruster, but it was derived from something much closer to the heart:
A sweet Tuxedo girl you see,
Queen of swell society,
Fond of fun as fun can be
When it's on the strict Q.T.
At the same time, an operational requirement was rising through the Navy, championed by a young officer who was evaluating Night Vision devices in support of riverine interdiction operations. Paired with a quiet aircraft, the capability would help to eliminate the periodic ambushes from VC concealed at the water's edge.
He wrote a Technical Statement of Requirements, and launched the paper balloon up through his chain of command to the Navy Research Laboratory.
Normally, the system is ponderous and problematic. In this case, though, the Lockheed concept and the Navy TSOR arrived at DARPA within months of each other:
Lockheed was awarded a contract in early 1967 to produce two quiet aircraft using a single-seat glider airframe powered by a muffled automotive engine and a large slow turning propeller, the two airframes to be ready for test and evaluation within six months.
Lockheed set up a small covert development shop in their Executive Aircraft Hangar at the San Jose Municipal Airport. The project was known as "San Jose Geophysical," and the phone was answered as "Stan's Cleaning and Pressing." They used rules that are highly unusual in defense acquisition today, similar to those used by Kelly Johnson's "Skunk Works" to produce the U-2 and SR-71 aircraft.
Commercial off-the-shelf parts were used, with minimal inspection, documentation, and reporting. Two Schweizer 2-32 sport gliders were diverted from an existing Navy Purchase Order and expedited, with the help of the Chief of Naval Operations, to the QT-2 Program.
They were fabricated with thicker wing skins and spars to accommodate the weight of a power plant. A long belt-driven shaft connected the engine to the special propeller, which was fashioned so the tips of the blades did not go supersonic at speed.
Two standard Buick mufflers were acquired and provided quieting. It was about the strangest thing you ever saw, with the engine behind the observer seat, the drive shaft over the cockpit, and the strange slow-speed propeller supported by a pylon mounted directly in front of the pilot.
The first one flew on schedule in August of 1967, on time and under budget, and the second one was completed in short order. They were the damnedest things. If you were not looking right at them, or if they did not pass between the moon and the observer they were virtually undetectable.
The besieged Marine garrison at Khe Sahn was getting a lot of attention as North Vietnamese General Giap attempted to divert attention from something else he had in mind. The two quiet aircraft were needed in the theater of operations for evaluation. In January of 1968 they were disassembled, crated, and loaded in a C-130 for the trip to SE Asia with a rag-tag tri-service group of pilots and maintenance personnel.
They were given the name PRIZE CREW and they arrived at Soc Trang Army Airfield on the 22nd of the month. It was a small field, at sea level in the Mekong Delta near where the Bassac River makes its brackish union with the South China Sea. The runway was only 3500' long, not suitable for tactical jets, but more than sufficient for the flight demonstration.
The truce for the local holiday was just starting, and it seemed like a perfect time to get set up and start the evaluation.
The young Navy intelligence officer, fresh from his indoctrination in the Bird Dog reported in time to see the crates come off the transports and be whisked into the hangar to be put back together out of prying eyes.
Things were just about ready to go by the 30th, the day of General Giap's big surprise, which he had been preparing on the QT. It was the start of the Tet Offensive, 1968.
Copyright 2008 Vic Socotra
Editor's Note: The last of the Vietnam Aviation Aircraft stories to be told.
Taking the Night Away From Charlie. Based on an oral paper delivered to the 6th Triennial Vietnam Symposium a Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX on 3/15/08 Author: Dale Ross Stith, with some recollections by LT RK Bowers, Naval Intelligence Liaison Officer (NILO Nha Trang) and (NILO Go Dau Hau 1968-1969). An excellent military training film on the QT-2 can be viewed on YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9klYgXlVhE
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Thanks toTrending Subjects
New Presley Documentary Gives Insight On Stars Comeback
By Mark Stevens -November 26, 2024
By 1968, Elvis Presley was at a crossroads, disillusioned with a film career that had boxed him into lighthearted, cash-grab musicals. His dreams of becoming a serious actor in the mold of James Dean or Marlon Brando seemed impossibly distant. Jason Hehir's new Netflix documentary, Return of the King: The Fall & Rise of Elvis Presley, explores how Presley transformed this creative low point into a defining moment that would reignite his career and legacy.Online movie streaming services
In the documentary, Presley's dissatisfaction with Hollywood's treatment of him is laid bare. "Hollywood's image of me was wrong, and I knew it, and I couldn't do anything about it," Presley says in archival audio. Despite earning enormous paychecks, he felt trapped in a cycle of mediocrity. His discontent reached its nadir with the infamous scene in Double Trouble (1967), where he sang "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," a moment his ex-wife Priscilla Presley calls "a crime" in the film.Online movie streaming services
Hehir reveals that Presley's frustration ran deep, leaving him physically ill at times. Locked into contracts, he was unable to pursue the roles he truly wanted, leading to a creative and spiritual void. But it was this dissatisfaction that sparked his desire to return to live performance—a space where he felt most alive.
Presley's solution to his stagnation came in the form of a live televised performance: the now-iconic 1968 NBC special. For Presley, who hadn't performed in front of a live audience in seven years, it was both a risk and a lifeline.
According to Hehir, Presley was wracked with stage fright, even refusing to leave his dressing room at one point. It was only after director Steve Binder persuaded him that Presley took the stage.
Dressed in a sleek black leather suit reminiscent of Marlon Brando's role in The Wild One, Presley exuded a raw charisma that silenced any doubts about his relevance. The special was a turning point. It reminded the world—and Presley himself—why he had become the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
After the special's success, Presley threw himself into live performances and found solace in gospel music, a genre that had always been close to his heart. Hehir notes that gospel provided Presley with both creative fulfillment and spiritual healing. Priscilla recalled hearing him play gospel tunes alone on the piano at Graceland, moments that underscored his deep connection to the music of his youth.Best headphones deals
While the documentary celebrates Presley's comeback, it also reflects on the missed opportunities of his acting career. Mismanagement and a string of subpar scripts robbed him of the chance to develop as an actor. "We still don't know what kind of actor Elvis could have become," Hehir laments, suggesting that Presley's true artistic potential was never fully realized on the big screen.
Unlike other Presley documentaries, Return of the King avoids ending on a somber note, choosing instead to celebrate the apex of his career as a performer. Through behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, the film captures the joy Presley found in his craft, especially in intimate jam sessions with close friends.
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For you cat fans
Thanks to Interesting Facts
Cats can make 276 different facial expressions.
While cats give off a solitary vibe — often appearing much more aloof than their canine counterparts — felines are actually very social creatures. They form bonds with littermates, establish colonies, and may develop just as strong a connection with their pet parents as dogs do. Maybe the lesser-known social nature of cats can begin to explain another fascinating finding: Cats are capable of up to 276 unique facial expressions. In 2021, researchers at UCLA recorded 194 minutes of cat-to-cat facial expressions at a nearby CatCafé Lounge. Then they coded all those facial muscle movements, excluding things like chewing and yawning, and discerned 276 unique expressions.
Each of these feline expressions included four of 26 unique facial movements — things like parted lips, jaw moves, and even pupil dilation. Humans, by comparison, have about 44 facial movements, which some estimates say translates into about 10,000 facial expressions. Although limited compared to humans, cats still have far more expressions than experts had realized. As one veterinary behaviorist put it, "there is clearly a lot going on that we are not aware of." Even after 10,000 years of domestication (and an even greater number of cat videos), the little lions in our living room still have the capacity to surprise.
Cats were actually domesticated twice.
Today's house cat (Felis catus) is a direct descendant of Felis silvestris lybica, otherwise known as the African wildcat. Still spread across Africa but also west and central Asia, the African wildcat is slightly larger than its tamed descendants, and the process of domestication likely began around 10,800 years ago in the Middle East/North Africa region. However, evidence suggests that a second cat species, the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), was separately domesticated in neolithic China around 5,000 years ago. (Today, the modern Bengal cat is a mix between this wildcat and Felis catus.) In both instances, cats were domesticated far later than dogs, which some estimates say occurred as far back as 32,100 years ago. This explains why house cats retain more genetic, behavioral, and even physical traits of their wild ancestors compared to most dog breeds.
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This Day in U S Military History
1619 – America's 1st Thanksgiving Day was held in Virginia when thirty-eight colonists arrive at Berkeley Hundred, Virginia. The group's charter proclaims that the day "be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."
1674 – Father Marquette built the 1st dwelling at what is now Chicago. Father Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary, established Michigan's earliest European settlements at Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace in 1668 and 1671. He lived among the Great Lakes Indians from 1666 to his death in 1675. During these nine years, Father Marquette mastered several native languages and helped Louis Jolliet map the Mississippi River.
1783 – Gen. George Washington said farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in NYC. Nine days after the last British soldiers left American soil and truly ended the Revolution, George Washington invited the officers of the Continental Army to join him in the Long Room of Fraunces Tavern so he could say farewell. The best known account of this emotional leave-taking comes from the Memoirs of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, written in 1830 and now in the collection of Fraunces Tavern Museum. As Tallmadge recalled, "The time now drew near when General Washington intended to leave this part of the country for his beloved retreat at Mt. Vernon. On Tuesday the 4th of December it was made known to the officers then in New York that General Washington intended to commence his journey on that day. At 12 o'clock the officers repaired to Fraunces Tavern in Pearl Street where General Washington had appointed to meet them and to take his final leave of them. We had been assembled but a few moments when his excellency entered the room. His emotions were too strong to be concealed which seemed to be reciprocated by every officer present. After partaking of a slight refreshment in almost breathless silence the General filled his glass with wine and turning to the officers said, 'With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.' After the officers had taken a glass of wine General Washington said 'I cannot come to each of you but shall feel obliged if each of you will come and take me by the hand.' General Knox being nearest to him turned to the Commander-in-chief who, suffused in tears, was incapable of utterance but grasped his hand when they embraced each other in silence. In the same affectionate manner every officer in the room marched up and parted with his general in chief. Such a scene of sorrow and weeping I had never before witnessed and fondly hope I may never be called to witness again." The officers escorted Washington from the tavern to the Whitehall wharf, where he boarded a barge that took him to Paulus Hook, (now Jersey City) New Jersey. Washington continued to Annapolis, where the Continental Congress was meeting, and resigned his commission. Washington's popularity was great at the end of the Revolution and he had been urged to seize control of the government and establish a military regime. Instead, he publicly bid farewell to his troops at Fraunces Tavern and resigned as commander-in-chief at Annapolis, thus ensuring that the new United States government would not be a military dictatorship. Washington returned to Mount Vernon, believing that December 1783 marked the end of his public life. Little did he realize that he would return to New York six years later to be sworn in as the nation's first president.
1942 – Carlson's patrol during the Guadalcanal Campaign ends. Carlson's patrol, also known as The Long Patrol or Carlson's long patrol, was an operation by the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion under the command of Evans Carlson during the Guadalcanal Campaign against the Imperial Japanese Army beginning 6 November 1942. In the operation, the 2nd Raiders attacked forces under the command of Toshinari Shōji, which were escaping from an attempted encirclement in the Koli Point area on Guadalcanal and attempting to rejoin other Japanese army units on the opposite side of the U.S. Lunga perimeter. In a series of small unit engagements over 29 days, the 2nd Raiders killed almost 500 Japanese soldiers while suffering only 16 killed, although many were afflicted by disease. The raiders also captured a Japanese field gun that was delivering harassing fire on Henderson Field, the Allied airfield at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal.
1966 – A Viet Cong unit penetrates the 13-mile defense perimeter around Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport and shells the field for over four hours. South Vietnamese and U.S. security guards finally drove off the attackers, killing 18 of them in the process. One U.S. RF-101 reconnaissance jet was badly damaged in the attack. The guerrillas returned that same night and resumed the attack, but security guards again repelled them, killing 11 more Viet Cong during the second battle.
1983 – Aircraft from USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) and USS Independence (CV-62) launch strike against anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon that fired on U.S. aircraft. Two U.S. Navy planes shot down. This is a retaliatory measure for the bombing of the Beirut Marine Barracks in October.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
4 December
DAVIS, RAYMOND G.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps commanding officer, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Vicinity Hagaru-ri, Korea, 1 through 4 December 1950. Entered service at: Atlanta, Ga. Born: 13 January 1915, Fitzgerald, Ga. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Although keenly aware that the operation involved breaking through a surrounding enemy and advancing 8 miles along primitive icy trails in the bitter cold with every passage disputed by a savage and determined foe, Lt. Col. Davis boldly led his battalion into the attack in a daring attempt to relieve a beleaguered rifle company and to seize, hold, and defend a vital mountain pass controlling the only route available for 2 marine regiments in danger of being cut off by numerically superior hostile forces during their re-deployment to the port of Hungnam. When the battalion immediately encountered strong opposition from entrenched enemy forces commanding high ground in the path of the advance, he promptly spearheaded his unit in a fierce attack up the steep, ice-covered slopes in the face of withering fire and, personally leading the assault groups in a hand-to-hand encounter, drove the hostile troops from their positions, rested his men, and reconnoitered the area under enemy fire to determine the best route for continuing the mission. Always in the thick of the fighting Lt. Col. Davis led his battalion over 3 successive ridges in the deep snow in continuous attacks against the enemy and, constantly inspiring and encouraging his men throughout the night, brought his unit to a point within 1,500 yards of the surrounded rifle company by daybreak. Although knocked to the ground when a shell fragment struck his helmet and 2 bullets pierced his clothing, he arose and fought his way forward at the head of his men until he reached the isolated marines. On the following morning, he bravely led his battalion in securing the vital mountain pass from a strongly entrenched and numerically superior hostile force, carrying all his wounded with him, including 22 litter cases and numerous ambulatory patients. Despite repeated savage and heavy assaults by the enemy, he stubbornly held the vital terrain until the 2 regiments of the division had deployed through the pass and, on the morning of 4 December, led his battalion into Hagaru-ri intact. By his superb leadership, outstanding courage, and brilliant tactical ability, Lt. Col. Davis was directly instrumental in saving the beleaguered rifle company from complete annihilation and enabled the 2 marine regiments to escape possible destruction. His valiant devotion to duty and unyielding fighting spirit in the face of almost insurmountable odds enhance and sustain the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
HUDNER, THOMAS JEROME, JR.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant (J.G.) U.S. Navy, pilot in Fighter Squadron 32, attached to U.S.S. Leyte. Place and date: Chosin Reservoir area of Korea, 4 December 1950. Entered service at: Fall River, Mass. Born: 31 August 1924, Fall River, Mass. Citation. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a pilot in Fighter Squadron 32, while attempting to rescue a squadron mate whose plane struck by antiaircraft fire and trailing smoke, was forced down behind enemy lines. Quickly maneuvering to circle the downed pilot and protect him from enemy troops infesting the area, Lt. (J.G.) Hudner risked his life to save the injured flier who was trapped alive in the burning wreckage. Fully aware of the extreme danger in landing on the rough mountainous terrain and the scant hope of escape or survival in subzero temperature, he put his plane down skillfully in a deliberate wheels-up landing in the presence of enemy troops. With his bare hands, he packed the fuselage with snow to keep the flames away from the pilot and struggled to pull him free. Unsuccessful in this, he returned to his crashed aircraft and radioed other airborne planes, requesting that a helicopter be dispatched with an ax and fire extinguisher. He then remained on the spot despite the continuing danger from enemy action and, with the assistance of the rescue pilot, renewed a desperate but unavailing battle against time, cold, and flames. Lt. (J.G.) Hudner's exceptionally valiant action and selfless devotion to a shipmate sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
McGINNIS, ROSS ANDREW
United States Army. Citation. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on 4 December 2006.That afternoon his platoon was conducting combat control operations in an effort to reduce and control sectarian violence in the area. While Private McGinnis was manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a fragmentation grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner's hatch into the vehicle. Reacting quickly, he yelled "grenade," allowing all four members of his crew to prepare for the grenade's blast. Then, rather than leaping from the gunner's hatch to safety, Private McGinnis made the courageous decision to protect his crew. In a selfless act of bravery, in which he was mortally wounded, Private McGinnis covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion. Private McGinnis' gallant action directly saved four men from certain serious injury or death. Private First Class McGinnis' extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for 4 December, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
4 December
1918: Through 22 December, Maj Albert D. Smith led four Curtiss JN-4s on the Army's first transcontinental trip from San Diego, Calif., to Jacksonville, Fla. Smith's plane was the only one to complete the trip. (9) (20)
1942: Ninth Air Force sent 24 B-24s to attack ships at the Naples docks in the first US Army Air Forces air strike against mainland Italy in World War II. (4)
1945: A Transworld Airlines Lockheed Constellation set a 12-hour, 57-minute record in its first flight from Washington DC to Paris, France. (24)
1950: KOREAN WAR. MiG-15s shot down one of the three USAF RB-45 Tornado reconnaissance aircraft in the theater. This event was the first successful jet bomber interception in airpower history. (28)
1957: The USAF announced that BOMARC missile sites would be built at Dow AFB, Maine, Otis AFB, Mass., Suffolk AFB, N. Y., and McGuire AFB, N. J. (24)
1959: The National Air and Space Administration tested the Mercury capsule's escape system by sending a Rhesus monkey from Wallops Island, Va., on a 55-mile, 13-minute flight into space and returning it alive. (24)
1961: The USAF launched a Blue Scout rocket from Point Arguello, Calif., to 27,600 miles in altitude to measure low-energy protons emitted by the sun. (24)
1965: GEMINI VI and VII. Through 18 December, Frank Borman (USAF) and James A. Lovell, Jr. (US Navy) orbited earth on a 330-hour, 35-minute flight. Launched from Cape Kennedy, Fla., the astronauts set records for longest space flight, longest flight for a two-man vehicle, most orbits (206), most time in space, and greatest distance on one flight (5,129,000 miles). The hookup with Gemini VI astronauts Walter Schirra, Jr. (US Navy) and Thomas P. Stafford (USAF) gave us the first US space rendezvous and the first space-to-space voice communications, making it one of the most successful missions to date. Gemini VI returned on 16 December to end its 26-hour, 1-minute flight. (7) (9)
1972: The last EB-66 Destroyer left USAFE for Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. (16)
1975: Vandenberg AFB, Calif., launched the last Titan II in support of ballistic missile defense tests. (6)
1979: Lockheed-Georgia delivered the first stretched C-141B from Marietta to the Military Airlift Command's 443d Military Airlift Wing at Altus AFB, Okla. This program lengthened all 270 C-141As by 23.3 feet and modified them for air refueling. (2) (12)
1986: The Air Force Council approved the Tactical Air Command's suggestion to expand the A-10 Thunderbolt II's role from close air support missions to forward air control functions. (16)
1989: The Navy successfully launched the fourth Trident II (D5) test missile from the USS Tennessee off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Fla. (8: Feb 90)
1996: An F-16 Fighting Falcon soared into history above Hill AFB, Utah, by logging its five millionth hour of flying time. To commemorate the event, the 388th Fighter Wing (the first wing to get the F-16) flew an aerial performance flight. Captain Kurt Gallegos of the West Coast F-16 Demonstration Team flew the Falcon. (AFNEWS Article 961255, 11 Dec 96) Major Mike Brill, a 419th Fighter Wing pilot, also received an award at that ceremony for having more F-16 hours (3,700) than any pilot in the world. (AFNEWS Article 961256, 11 Dec 96)
1998: Through 15 December, astronauts on the Space Shuttle Endeavour completed the first International Space Station assembly mission. They attached the Unity, the first US module, to the Russia's Zarya module. The crew also launched MightySat I, a USAF experiment to evaluate composite materials, advanced solar cells, and other technology. (21)
2000: At Edwards AFB, Calif., the Boeing X-32A Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstrator successfully completed low-speed approach aircraft carrier variant tests, one of three main goals for the JSF flight test program. (AFNEWS Article 001795, 5 Dec 00)
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