To All,
Good Thursday morning December 26 I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families yesterday.
The weather is supposed to be cloudy and cool today but I will see if the weather guessers are correct when the sun comes out around 2 for a couple hours.
The first of the trash trucks just came by for the recycle stuff. The regular trash and the yard waste will be coming soon. I got all ours out an hour and a half ago and they were all full.
Warm Regards,
Skip
Make it a GREAT Day
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Go here to see the director's corner for all 85 H-Grams
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History
December . 26
1862—The first female nurses to serve on a U.S. Navy ship report aboard hospital ship Red Rover. They are nuns from the Catholic Order Sisters of the Holy Cross.
1872—While serving on the side-wheel steamer Powhatan at Norfolk, VA, Seaman Joseph Noil saves drowning shipmate, Boatswain J.C. Walton. For his conduct on this occasion, he is awarded the Medal of Honor.
1942—SBDs, F4Fs, and P-38s attack Japanese transports at Wickham Anchorage, New Georgia and sink the freighters Takashima Maru and Iwami Maru.
1943—USS Fanning (DD 385) sinks the Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.7 Myo Maru off Okino Misaki, Bonin Islands.
1943—Operation Backhander begins. Task Force 76 lands 1st Marine Division at Cape Cloucester, New Britain. During retaliatory Japanese air attacks, destroyer USS Brownson (DD 518) sinks while destroyers USS Lamson (DD 367), USS Shaw (DD 373) and USS Mugford (DD 389), along with USS LST 66 and coastal transport APC 15 are damaged.
1944—Harriet Ida Pickens and Frances F. Wills are commissioned as the first two African-American WAVES officers.
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Today in World History December 26
1776 After crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey, George Washington leads an attack on Hessian mercenaries at Trenton, and takes 900 men prisoner.
1786 Daniel Shay leads a rebellion in Massachusetts to protest the seizure of property for the non-payment of debt.
1806 Napoleon's army is checked by the Russians at the Battle of Pultusk.
1862 38 Santee Sioux are hanged in Mankato, Minnesota for their part in the Sioux Uprising in Minnesota. Little Crow has fled the state.
1866 Brig. Gen. Philip St. George Cooke, head of the Department of the Platte, receives word of the Fetterman Fight in Powder River County in the Dakota territory.
1917 As a wartime measure, President Woodrow Wilson places railroads under government control, with Secretary of War William McAdoo as director general.
1925 Six U.S. destroyers are ordered from Manila to China to protect interests in the civil war that is being waged there.
1932 Over 70,000 people are killed in a massive earthquake in China.
1941 General Douglas MacArthur declares Manila an open city in the face of the onrushing Japanese Army.
1943 The German battleship Scharnhorst is sunk by British ships in an Arctic fight.
1944 Advancing Soviet troops complete their encirclement of Budapest in Hungary.
1945 The United States, Soviet Union and Great Britain, end a 10-day meeting, seeking an atomic rule by the UN Council.
1953 The United States announces the withdrawal of two divisions from Korea.
1962 Eight East Berliners escape to West Berlin, crashing through gates in an armor-plated bus.
1966 Dr. Maulana Karenga celebrates the first Kwanza, a seven-day African-American celebration of family and heritage.
1979 The Soviet Union flies 5,000 troops to intervene in the Afghanistan conflict.
1982 Time magazine chooses a personal computer as it's "Man of the Year," the first non-human ever to receive the honor.
1991 The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union formally dissolves the Soviet Union.
1996 Jon Benet Ramsey, a six-year-old beauty queen, is found beaten and strangled to death in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado, one of the most high-profile crimes of the late 20th century in the US.
1996 Workers in South Korea's automotive and shipbuilding industries begin the largest labor strike in that country's history, protesting a new law that made firing employees easier and would curtail the rights of labor groups to organize.
1999 Lothar, a violent, 36-hour windstorm begins; it kills 137 and causes $1.3 billion (US dollars) damage in Central Europe.
2004 A tsunami caused by a 9.3-magnitude earthquake kills more than 230,000 along the rim of the Indian Ocean.
2006 Former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford dies at age 93. Ford was the only unelected president in America's history.
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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 "Thursday 26 December
December 26: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2791
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.
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 Servicemembers Killed in the Vietnam War
The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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FROM: Joe C.
SUBJ: NINTH NIGHT OF OPERATION LINEBACKER II
Prior to the launch of the night missions an F-4E was lost in the search for the F-111 crew that had been shot down on December 22nd. Both pilots ejected but were captured and became POWs.
Later, a Marine A-6A Intruder disappeared during a coastal road recce mission. Both aviators were killed.
Two B-52Ds were lost during the ninth night's operations. The first was Ash 02 which had 15 SAMs fired at it. Despite severe injuries to himself and all of his crew being wounded Captain Mize regained control of the aircraft with no engines operating on the left wing. Finally, with all systems failing and he ordered ejection 15 miles from Nakhon Phanom but had to wait to eject himself until Lt. Robinson bailed out manually. Captain Mize was awarded the Air Force Cross. The co-pilot on this crew was Captain Terence Gruters whose brother Guy was already a POW captured in late 1967. All six crewmembers of Ash 02 were rescued by USAF SAR choppers. Hooray!
The second B-52 did not fare so well. Cobalt 01 was hit by a SAM at 25,000 feet 15 miles NE of Hanoi. All crew were injured to one extent or another by the blast. Of the six crew, four became POWs; two were killed.
Following the last B-52 loss of LB II an F-4E was lost to a MiG-21 Atoll missile in the only air-to-air night combat of the war. This was also the last AF aircraft shot down by a MiG during the Vietnam War.
The night's losses were:
4 KIA
6 POWs
Bill Wilson adds:
Don't forget the Jolly Green that was shot down trying to rescue me on the 27th. Fortunately all the crew survived when the helo landed in Laos and was picked up by the "high" Jolly on that mission.
Another toast tonight....
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One of my favorites
Thanks to Dr. Rich
The value of Engineering
You don't have to have worked with an engineer to appreciate this story.
A toothpaste factory had a problem They sometimes shipped empty boxes without the tube inside. This challenged their perceived quality with the buyers and distributors. Understanding how important the relationship with them was, the CEO of the company assembled his top people. They decided to hire an external engineering company to solve their empty boxes problem.
The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor allocated, RFP, and third-parties selected. Six months (and $3 million) later they had a fantastic solution - on time, on budget, and high quality. Everyone in the project was pleased.
They solved the problem by using a high-tech precision scale that would sound a bell and flash lights whenever a toothpaste box weighed less than it should. The line would stop, someone would walk over, remove the defective box, and then press another button to re-start the line. As a result of the new package monitoring process, no empty boxes were being shipped out of the factory.
With no more customer complaints, the CEO felt the $3 million was well spent. He then reviewed the line statistics report and discovered the number of empty boxes picked up by the scale in the first week was consistent with projections, however, the next three weeks were zero! The estimated rate should have been at least a dozen boxes a day.
He had the engineers check the equipment; they verified the report as accurate. Puzzled, the CEO traveled down to the factory, viewed the part of the line where the precision scale was installed, and observed just ahead of the new $3 million dollar solution sat a $20 desk fan blowing the empty boxes off the belt and into a bin. He asked the line supervisor what that was about.
"Oh, that," the supervisor replied, "Bert, the new kid, put it there because he was tired of walking over, removing the box and re-starting the line every time the doggone bell rang."
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Why Is Christmas Celebrated on December 25?
The official purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, whom the globe's roughly 2.2 billion Christians worship as the Son of God. The unofficial purpose is to spend quality time and exchange presents with loved ones, preferably near a fireplace. Based on the fact that Christmas (short for "Christ Mass") takes place on December 25, one might reasonably assume that this is the date of Jesus' birth. The truth is a little more complicated.
1 of 4
When Is Jesus' Real Birthday?
First of all, no one can say with certainty precisely when Jesus was actually born. Many scholars believe he most likely wasn't born on December 25, and in fact may have been a spring baby. The Bible does not mention a specific day, month, or year for his birth.
The timing of Christmas is further complicated by the discrepancies between the Julian and Gregorian calendars, which is why Christmas isn't universally celebrated on December 25. January 6 is the preferred date for Armenian Apostolics, while most Oriental and Eastern Orthodox churches observe it on January 7.
2 of 4
Is the Date of Christmas Based on the Winter Solstice?
One of the most widely accepted theories for the date of Christmas involves the winter solstice, which in ancient Rome took place on December 25. According to the fourth-century theologian Augustine of Hippo, Jesus chose to be born on the shortest day of the year: "Hence it is that He was born on the day which is the shortest in our earthly reckoning and from which subsequent days begin to increase in length. He, therefore, who bent low and lifted us up chose the shortest day, yet the one whence light begins to increase." This interpretation was later supported by Isaac Newton.
The December 25 date may also have been chosen by the Roman Catholic Church in an attempt to co-opt the pagan festival of Saturnalia, which was dedicated to the Roman deity Saturn.
3 of 4
Is the Date of Christmas Based on Passover?
The earliest theologians who discussed Jesus' birthday mentioned that he was likely divinely conceived during Passover, the Jewish holiday on which he was also later crucified. They calculated Passover in the year of Jesus' death as March 25, and arrived at December 25 (nine months later) as a likely date for his birth. Eastern Christian communities used a different calendar, which calculated the date of Passover as April 6; that's how we got January 6 as Christmas in some parts of the world.
Another theory centers more specifically around the Annunciation, or the day that the Archangel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to the Son of God. The Annunciation is observed on March 25 — again, exactly nine months before December 25.
4 of 4
When Did Christmas Start Being Celebrated on December 25?
Whatever the case, Christmas taking place on December 25 is hardly a new phenomenon. Christmas probably started being commemorated around the second century, and the church decreed that it be held on December 25 in 336 CE. However, Christmas did not become a really significant Christian holiday until the ninth century. In the end, some theologians argue that the precise date of the celebration doesn't matter a great deal, as long as the spirit of the day is preserved.
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From the archives Worth the repeat
Thanks to Al . His Monday morning Humor has been a part of the list each Monday for over 20 years. They entertain and educate and provide thoughts of Life and living. Each week and I thank him for his efforts and wish him and his family the best.. I think I have close to 600 in my Al Krause file.
Monday Morning Humor
Thanks to Al
I arrived at the address where someone had requested a taxi. I honked but no one came out. I honked again, nothing. So I walked to the door and knocked.
"Just a minute", answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.
"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, and then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the cab.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing", I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated".
"Oh, you're such a good boy", she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"
"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.
"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice".
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long."
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked. For the next two hours, we drove through the city.
She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now"
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. "How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.
"Nothing," I said
"You have to make a living," she answered.
"There are other passengers," I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
A New Year's prayer and Auld Lang Syne sung by Sissel at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Rtajxo8d7js?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more fortunate than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
If your parents are still alive and still married...you are very rare, even in the United States.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful...you are fortunate because the majority can, but most do not.
If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer healing touch.
If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more fortunate than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.
Have a great year, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind everyone else how fortunate we all are.
The Train of Life and another version of Auld Lang Syne by Susan Boyle at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh7oFX_B870
As we face a new year, I recall visiting with three old friends, a few years back, at a park in the nation's capital.
It seems like only yesterday that we were all together, but actually it has been 42 years. There was a crowd at the park that day, and it took us a while to connect, but with the aid of a book we made it. I found Harry, Bruce and Paul.
In 1970-72 we were gung-ho young fighter pilots on America and Constellation off Vietnam, the cream of the crop of the U.S. Navy, flying F-4J Phantoms. Now their names are on that 500-foot-long Vietnam War Memorial. I am hesitant to visit the wall when I'm in Washington DC because I don't trust myself to keep my composure.
Standing in front of that somber wall, I tried to keep it light, reminiscing about how things were back then. We used to joke about our passionate love affair with an inanimate flying object-we flew. We marveled at the thought that we actually got paid to do it. We were not draftees but college graduates in Vietnam by choice, opting for the cramped confines of a jet fighter cockpit over the comfort of corporate America. In all my life I've not been so passionate about any other work. If that sounds like an exaggeration, then you've never danced the wild blue with a supersonic angel. To fight for your country is an honor.
I vividly remember leaving my family and friends in San Diego headed for Vietnam. I wondered if I would live to see them again. For reasons I still don't understand, I was fortunate to return while others did not.
Once in Vietnam, we passed the long, lonely hours in Alert 5, the ready room, our staterooms or the Cubi O'Club. The complaint heard most often, in the standard gallows humor of a combat squadron, was, "It's a lousy war, but it's the only one we have." (I've cleaned up the language a bit.) We sang mostly raunchy songs that never seemed to end-someone was always writing new verses-and, as an antidote to loneliness, fear in the night and the sadness over dead friends, we often drank too much.
At the wall, I told the guys only about the good parts of the years since we've been apart. I talked of those who went on to command squadrons. Those who made Captain and flag rank. I asked them if they've seen some other squadronmates who have joined them.
I didn't tell them about how ostracized Vietnam vets still are. I didn't relate how the media had implied we Vietnam vets were, to quote one syndicated columnist, "either suckers or psychos, victims or monsters." I didn't tell them that Hanoi Jane, who shot at us and helped torture our POWs, had married one of the richest guys in the United States. I didn't tell them that the secretary of defense they fought for back then has now declared that he was not a believer in the cause for which he assigned them all to their destiny. I didn't tell them that our commander-in-chief avoided serving while they were fighting and dying.
And I didn't tell them we "lost" that lousy war. I gave them the same story I've used for years: We were winning when I left. I relived that final day as I stared at the black onyx wall. After 297 combat missions, we were leaving the South China Sea…heading east. The excitement of that day was only exceeded by coming into the break at Miramar, knowing that my wife, my two boys, my parents and other friends and family were waiting to welcome me home.
I was not the only one talking to the wall through tears. Folks in fatigues, leather vests, motorcycle jackets, flight jackets lined the wall talking to friends. I backed about 25 yards away from the wall and sat down on the grass under a clear blue sky and midday sun that perfectly matched the tropical weather of the war zone. The wall, with all 58,200 names, consumed my field of vision. I tried to wrap my mind around the violence, carnage and ruined lives that it represented. Then I thought of how Vietnam was only one small war in the history of the human race. I was overwhelmed with a sense of mankind's wickedness balanced against some men and women's willingness to serve.
Before becoming a spectacle in the park, I got up and walked back up to the wall to say goodbye and ran my fingers over the engraved names of my friends as if I could communicate with them through some kind of spiritual touch.
I wanted them to know that God, duty, honor and country will always remain the noblest calling. Revisionist history from elite draft dodgers trying to justify and rationalize their own actions will never change that.
I believe I have been a productive member of society since the day I left Vietnam. I am honored to have served there, and I am especially proud of my friends-heroes who voluntarily, enthusiastically gave their all. They demonstrated no greater love to a nation whose highbrow opinion makers are still trying to disavow them. May their names, indelibly engraved on that memorial wall, likewise be found in the Book of Life. Remember that throughout the new year.
I had much the same experience when I visited the wall….skip
As you got up this morning, I watched you, and hoped you would talk to me, even if it was just a few words, asking my opinion or thanking me for something good that happened in your life yesterday. But I noticed you were too busy, trying to find the right outfit to wear. When you ran around the house getting ready, I knew there would be a few minutes for you to stop and say hello, but you were too busy.
At one point you had to wait, fifteen minutes with nothing to do except sit in a chair. Then I saw you spring to your feet. I thought you wanted to talk to me but you ran to the phone and called a friend to get the latest gossip instead. I watched patiently all day long. With all your activities I guess you were too busy to say anything to me.
I noticed that before lunch you looked around, maybe you felt embarrassed to talk to me, that is why you didn't bow your head. You glanced three or four tables over and you noticed some of your friends talking to me briefly before they ate, but you didn't.
That's okay. There is still more time left, and I hope that you will talk to me yet. You went home and it seems as if you had lots of things to do. After a few of them were done, you turned on the TV. I don't know if you like TV or not, just about anything goes there and you spend a lot of time each day in front of it not thinking about anything, just enjoying the show.
I waited patiently again as you watched the TV and ate your meal, but again you didn't talk to me. Bedtime I guess you felt too tired. After you said goodnight to your family you plopped into bed and fell asleep in no time.
That's okay because you may not realize that I am always there for you. I've got patience, more than you will ever know. I even want to teach you how to be patient with others as well. I love you so much that I wait everyday for a nod, prayer or thought or a thankful part of your heart. It is hard to have a one- sided conversation.
Well, you are getting up once again. And once again I will wait, with nothing but love for you. Hoping that today you will give me some time. Have a nice day!
Your friend,
GOD
As an afterthought, I find it funny how simple it is for people to trash different ways of living and believing and then wonder why the world is going to hell.
Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding life choices, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of morality is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Funny isn't it?
Funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them.
Funny how I could be more worried about what other people think of me than what I think of me.
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Consider passing this to anyone who you may think should read it…
Near to the door
He paused to stand
As he took his class ring
Off her hand
All who were watching
Did not speak
As a silent tear
Ran down his cheek
And through his mind
The memories ran
Of the moments they walked
And ran in the sand hand and hand
But now her eyes were so terribly cold
For he would never again
Have her to hold
They watched in silence
As he bent near
And whispered the words......
"I LOVE YOU" in her ear
He touched her face and started to cry
As he put on his ring and wanted to die
And just then the wind began to blow
As they lowered her casket
Into the snow....
This is what happens
To man alive.....
When friends let friends....
Drink and drive.
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And one more…
Went to a Party, Mom
I went to a party, and remembered what you said.
You told me not to drink, Mom, so I had a Sprite instead.
I felt proud of myself, the way you said I would,
That I didn't drink and drive, though some friends said I should.
I made a healthy choice, and your advice to me was right,
The party finally ended, and the kids drove out of sight.
I got into my car, sure to get home in one piece,
I never knew what was coming, Mom, something I expected least.
Now I'm lying on the pavement, and I hear the policeman say,
The kid that caused this wreck was drunk, Mom, his voice seems far away.
My own blood's all around me, as I try hard not to cry.
I can hear the paramedic say, this girl is going to die.
I'm sure the guy had no idea, while he was flying high,
Because he chose to drink and drive, now I would have to die.
So why do people do it, Mom, knowing that it ruins lives?
And now the pain is cutting me like a hundred stabbing knives.
Tell sister not to be afraid, Mom, tell Daddy to be brave,
And when I go to heaven put "Daddy's Girl" on my grave.
Someone should have taught him that it's wrong to drink and drive.
Maybe if his parents had, I'd still be alive.
My breath is getting shorter, Mom, I'm getting really scared.
These are my final moments and I'm so unprepared.
I wish that you could hold me Mom as I lie here and die.
I wish that I could say, "I love you, Mom!" so I love you and good-bye.
This was allegedly written by the CEO of Coca-Cola Brian G. Dyson. It was allegedly used as Georgia Tech's Commencement Address:
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - Work - Family - Health - Friends - Spirit, and you're keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls -- family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered.
They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?
• Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.
• Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.
• Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.
• Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.
• Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
• Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us together.
• Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
• Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.
• Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.
• Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
• Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.
• Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.
I wish you and your families a happy, healthy and prosperous 2025 and beyond,
Al
"We do not need more intellectual power, we need more moral power. We do not need more knowledge, we need more character. We do not need more government, we need more culture. We do not need more law, we need more religion. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.... If the foundation is firm, the superstructure will stand."--Calvin Coolidge
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."--Galileo Galilei
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This Day in U S Military History
December 26
1776 – The British suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War. After crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey, George Washington led an attack on Hessian mercenaries and took 900 men prisoner. Two Americans froze to death on the march but none died in battle. There were 30 German casualties, 1,000 prisoners and 6 cannon captured. Four Americans were wounded in the overwhelming American victory, while 22 Hessians were killed and 78 wounded. The surprise attack caught most of the 1,200 Hessian soldiers at Trenton sleeping after a day of Christmas celebration. The Americans captured 918 Hessians, who were taken as prisoners to Philadelphia. The victory was a huge morale booster for the American army and the country. The victory at Trenton was a huge success and morale booster for the American army and people. However, the enlistments of more than 4,500 of Washington's soldiers were set to end four days later and it was critical that the force remain intact. General George Washington offered a bounty of $10 to any of his soldiers who extended their enlistments six weeks beyond their December 31, 1776, expiration dates. The American Revolution Battle of Trenton saw the routing of 1,400 Hessian mercenaries, with 101 killed or wounded and about 900 taken prisoner, with no Americans killed in the combat. Four Americans were wounded and two had died of exhaustion en route to Trenton.
1944 – General George S. Patton employs an audacious strategy to relieve the besieged Allied defenders of Bastogne, Belgium, during the brutal Battle of the Bulge. The capture of Bastogne was the immediate goal of the Battle of the Bulge, with eyes on the port city of Antwerp if a campaign could be strung together, the German offensive through the Ardennes forest. Bastogne provided a road junction in rough terrain where few roads existed; it would open up a valuable pathway further north for German expansion. The Belgian town was defended by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, which had to be reinforced by troops who straggled in from other battlefields. Food, medical supplies, and other resources eroded as bad weather and relentless German assaults threatened the Americans' ability to hold out. Nevertheless, Brigadier General Anthony C. MacAuliffe met a German surrender demand with a typewritten response of a single word: "Nuts." Enter "Old Blood and Guts," General Patton. Employing a complex and quick-witted strategy wherein he literally wheeled his 3rd Army a sharp 90 degrees in a counterthrust movement, Patton broke through the German lines and entered Bastogne, relieving the valiant defenders and ultimately pushing the Germans east across the Rhine. Meanwhile, British Bomber Command makes a daylight raid on the German held transportation hub of St. Vith. The Allies claim to have captured 13,273 German prisoners while the Germans claim over 30,000 Allied POWs and the destruction of 700 American tanks.
1971 – In the sharpest escalation of the war since Operation Rolling Thunder ended in November 1968, U.S. fighter-bombers begin striking at North Vietnamese airfields, missile sites, antiaircraft emplacements, and supply facilities. These raids continued for five days. They were begun in response to intelligence that predicted a North Vietnamese build up of forces and equipment for a new offensive. At a press conference on December 27, U.S. Defense Secretary Melvin Laird said the increase in bombing was in retaliation for the communist failure to honor agreements made prior to the 1968 bombing halt. As evidence, Laird cited the shelling of Saigon the week before, DMZ violations–including an infiltration route being built through the buffer zone, and attacks on unarmed U.S. reconnaissance planes. Pentagon figures showed that U.S. planes–with as many as 250 aircraft participating in some missions–attacked communist targets over 100 times in 1971, a figure comparable to U.S. air activity in the previous 26 months.
1972 – As part of Operation Linebacker II, 120 American B-52 Stratofortress bombers attacked Hanoi, including 78 launched from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, the largest single combat launch in Strategic Air Command history. Operation Linebacker II was a US Seventh Air Force and US Navy Task Force 77 aerial bombing campaign, conducted against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) during the final period of US involvement in the Vietnam War. The operation was conducted from 18–29 December 1972, leading to several of informal names such as "The December Raids" and "The Christmas Bombings". Unlike the Operation Rolling Thunder and Operation Linebacker interdiction operations, Linebacker II, would be a "maximum effort" bombing campaign to "destroy major target complexes in the Hanoi and Haiphong areas which could only be accomplished by B-52s." It saw the largest heavy bomber strikes launched by the US Air Force since the end of World War II. Linebacker II was a modified extension of the Operation Linebacker bombings conducted from May to October, with the emphasis of the new campaign shifted to attacks by B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers rather than smaller tactical fighter aircraft.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
NOIL, JOSEPH B.
Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1841, Nova Scotia. Accredited to: New York. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Powhatan at Norfolk, 26 December 1872, Noil saved Boatswain J. C. Walton from drowning.
*FOX, JOHN R.
Citation: For extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy in the vicinity of Sommocolonia, Italy on 26 December 1944, while serving as a member of Cannon Company, 366th Infantry Regiment, 92d Infantry Division. During the preceding few weeks, Lieutenant Fox served with the 598th Field Artillery Battalion as a forward observer. On Christmas night, enemy soldiers gradually infiltrated the town of Sommocolonia in civilian clothes, and by early morning the town was largely in hostile hands. Commencing with a heavy barrage of enemy artillery at 0400 hours on 26 December 1944, an organized attack by uniformed German units began. Being greatly outnumbered, most of the United States Infantry forces were forced to withdraw from the town, but Lieutenant Fox and some other members of his observer party voluntarily remained on the second floor of a house to direct defensive artillery fire. At 0800 hours, Lieutenant Fox reported that the Germans were in the streets and attacking in strength. He then called for defensive artillery fire to slow the enemy advance. As the Germans continued to press the attack towards the area that Lieutenant Fox occupied, he adjusted the artillery fire closer to his position. Finally he was warned that the next adjustment would bring the deadly artillery right on top of his position. After acknowledging the danger, Lieutenant Fox insisted that the last adjustment be fired as this was the only way to defeat the attacking soldiers. Later, when a counterattack retook the position from the Germans, Lieutenant Fox's body was found with the bodies of approximately 100 German soldiers. Lieutenant Fox's gallant and courageous actions, at the supreme sacrifice of his own life, contributed greatly to delaying the enemy advance until other infantry and artillery units could reorganize to repel the attack. His extraordinary valorous actions were in keeping with the most cherished traditions of military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.
*FRYAR, ELMER E.
Rank and organization: Private, U .S. Army, Company E, 511th Parachute Infantry, 11th Airborne Division. Place and date: Leyte, Philippine Islands, 8 December 1944. Entered service at: Denver, Colo. Birth: Denver, Colo. G.O. No.: 35, 9 May 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pvt. Fryar's battalion encountered the enemy strongly entrenched in a position supported by mortars and automatic weapons. The battalion attacked, but in spite of repeated efforts was unable to take the position. Pvt. Fryar's company was ordered to cover the battalion's withdrawal to a more suitable point from which to attack, but the enemy launched a strong counterattack which threatened to cut off the company. Seeing an enemy platoon moving to outflank his company, he moved to higher ground and opened heavy and accurate fire. He was hit, and wounded, but continuing his attack he drove the enemy back with a loss of 27 killed. While withdrawing to overtake his squad, he found a seriously wounded comrade, helped him to the rear, and soon overtook his platoon leader, who was assisting another wounded. While these 4 were moving to rejoin their platoon, an enemy sniper appeared and aimed his weapon at the platoon leader. Pvt. Fryar instantly sprang forward, received the full burst of automatic fire in his own body and fell mortally wounded. With his remaining strength he threw a hand grenade and killed the sniper. Pvt. Fryar's indomitable fighting spirit and extraordinary gallantry above and beyond the call of duty contributed outstandingly to the success of the battalion's withdrawal and its subsequent attack and defeat of the enemy. His heroic action in unhesitatingly giving his own life for his comrade in arms exemplifies the highest tradition of the U.S. Armed Forces.
HENDRIX, JAMES R.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company C, 53d Armored Infantry Battalion, 4th Armored Division. Place and date: Near Assenois, Belgium, 26 December 1944. Entered service at: Lepanto, Ark. Birth: Lepanto, Ark. G.O. No.: 74, 1 September 1945. Citation: On the night of 26 December 1944, near Assenois, Belgium, he was with the leading element engaged in the final thrust to break through to the besieged garrison at Bastogne when halted by a fierce combination of artillery and small arms fire. He dismounted from his half-track and advanced against two 88mm. guns, and, by the ferocity of his rifle fire, compelled the guncrews to take cover and then to surrender. Later in the attack he again left his vehicle, voluntarily, to aid 2 wounded soldiers, helpless and exposed to intense machinegun fire. Effectively silencing 2 hostile machineguns, he held off the enemy by his own fire until the wounded men were evacuated. Pvt. Hendrix again distinguished himself when he hastened to the aid of still another soldier who was trapped in a burning half-track. Braving enemy sniper fire and exploding mines and ammunition in the vehicle, he extricated the wounded man and extinguished his flaming clothing, thereby saving the life of his fellow soldier. Pvt. Hendrix, by his superb courage and heroism, exemplified the highest traditions of the military service.
*McGUlRE, THOMAS B., JR. (Air Mission)
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps, 13th Air Force. Place and date: Over Luzon, Philippine Islands, 25-26 December 1944. Entered service at: Sebring, Fla.. Birth: Ridgewood, N.J. G.O. No.: 24, 7 March 1946. Citation: He fought with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity over Luzon, Philippine Islands. Voluntarily, he led a squadron of 15 P-38's as top cover for heavy bombers striking Mabalacat Airdrome, where his formation was attacked by 20 aggressive Japanese fighters. In the ensuing action he repeatedly flew to the aid of embattled comrades, driving off enemy assaults while himself under attack and at times outnumbered 3 to 1, and even after his guns jammed, continuing the fight by forcing a hostile plane into his wingman's line of fire. Before he started back to his base he had shot down 3 Zeros. The next day he again volunteered to lead escort fighters on a mission to strongly defended Clark Field. During the resultant engagement he again exposed himself to attacks so that he might rescue a crippled bomber. In rapid succession he shot down 1 aircraft, parried the attack of 4 enemy fighters, 1 of which he shot down, single-handedly engaged 3 more Japanese, destroying 1, and then shot down still another, his 38th victory in aerial combat. On 7 January 1945, while leading a voluntary fighter sweep over Los Negros Island, he risked an extremely hazardous maneuver at low altitude in an attempt to save a fellow flyer from attack, crashed, and was reported missing in action. With gallant initiative, deep and unselfish concern for the safety of others, and heroic determination to destroy the enemy at all costs, Maj. McGuire set an inspiring example in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.
WARE, KEITH L.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S . Army, 1st Battalion, 1 5th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Sigolsheim, France, 26 December 1944. Entered service at: Glendale, Calif. Born: 23 November 1915, Denver, Colo. G.O. No.: 47, 18 June 1945. Citation: Commanding the 1st Battalion attacking a strongly held enemy position on a hill near Sigolsheim, France, on 26 December 1944, found that 1 of his assault companies had been stopped and forced to dig in by a concentration of enemy artillery, mortar, and machinegun fire. The company had suffered casualties in attempting to take the hill. Realizing that his men must be inspired to new courage, Lt. Col. Ware went forward 150 yards beyond the most forward elements of his command, and for 2 hours reconnoitered the enemy positions, deliberately drawing fire upon himself which caused the enemy to disclose his dispositions. Returning to his company, he armed himself with an automatic rifle and boldly advanced upon the enemy, followed by 2 officers, 9 enlisted men, and a tank. Approaching an enemy machinegun, Lt. Col. Ware shot 2 German riflemen and fired tracers into the emplacement, indicating its position to his tank, which promptly knocked the gun out of action. Lt. Col. Ware turned his attention to a second machinegun, killing 2 of its supporting riflemen and forcing the others to surrender. The tank destroyed the gun. Having expended the ammunition for the automatic rifle, Lt. Col. Ware took up an Ml rifle, killed a German rifleman, and fired upon a third machinegun 50 yards away. His tank silenced the gun. Upon his approach to a fourth machinegun, its supporting riflemen surrendered and his tank disposed of the gun. During this action Lt. Col. Ware's small assault group was fully engaged in attacking enemy positions that were not receiving his direct and personal attention. Five of his party of 11 were casualties and Lt. Col. Ware was wounded but refused medical attention until this important hill position was cleared of the enemy and securely occupied by his command.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for December 26, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
26 December
1910: Archibald Hoxsey used a Wright Biplane at Los Angeles, Calif., to set a Federation Aeronautique Internationale altitude record of 10,474 feet. (9)
1913: Lt Joseph E. Carberry and his passenger, Lt Walter R. Taliaferro, set an Army altitude record of 7,800 feet for two people in a Curtiss tractor (Signal Corps No. 22) at San Diego. (24)
1943: The preinvasion bombing of Cape Gloucester, New Britain, destroyed enemy defenses. Afterwards, Fifth Air Force described the complete destruction of a target as "Gloucesterizing." (24)
1944: Maj Thomas B. McGuire, Jr., receached 38 aerial victories by shooting down four enemy planes today. That total made him the second leading ace in World War II. He died in combat 12 days later. (21)
1956: The Convair F-106 Delta Dart's first flight occurred at Edwards AFB, Calif. The F-106 was designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor" because of the 1954 interceptor program. It was a development of the F-102 Delta Dagger, and thus was originally designed as the F-102B prior to being redesignated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The F-106 was designed without a gun or provision for carrying bombs, instead carrying its AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles within an internal weapons bay.
1956: Two F-100 aircraft achieved the Buddy System of air refueling (fighter to fighter).
2001: The Pentagon approved the low-rate initial production of the JASSM. (21)
2004: UNIFIED ASSISTANCE TSUNAMI RELIEF. A 9.0 earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered an enormous tsunami with 30-foot-high waves that slammed into the coasts of 13 nations and killed at least 300,000 people. The quake's epicenter was approximately 65 miles south of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The death toll was greatest in Indonesia where at least 100,000 people perished. The tsunami killed more than 29,000 people in Sir Lanka, 10,000 in India, and 4,600 in Thailand. Another three to five million people in South Asia and Southeast Asia were left without clean water, food, shelter, and sanitation. By the 23 February 2005 end of the operation, Air Mobility Command aircraft had flown 106 missions to airlift 2,768 passengers and 3,370 short tons of cargo to Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, Sir Lanka, U-Tapao AB, Thailand, and Banda Aceh and Jakarta International Airports in Indonesia. An Air National Guard C-5A from the 105th Airlift Wing from Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y., took part in the airlift. (22) (32)
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