To All,
Good Tuesday morning January 7. Partly cloudy cool 43 to 69 today with the wind that has not shown up yet but still in the forecast. However the leaves have completely covered the front yard. Classes went well last night. Always good to be back .
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/
7 January
1822 The schooner Porpoise captures six pirate vessels off Cuba and destroys their base, while USS Spark recaptures a Dutch sloop that had been taken as a prize by pirates. A landing party destroys the pirate's base in the West Indies.
1881 Nathan Goff Jr., took office as the 28th Secretary of the Navy, serving until March. A World War II destroyer was named for him.
1945 Destroyers Charles Ausburne (DD 570), Braine (DD 630), Russell (DD 414) and Shaw (DD 373) sink the Japanese destroyer Hinoki, 50 miles west-southwest of Manila Bay.
1945 Submarine Spot (SS 413) sinks the Japanese gunboat No.2 Nichiei Maru in the Inland Sea.
1995 Dock Landing Ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) is commissioned.
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Today in World History January
1327 King Edward II of England is deposed.
1558 The French, under the Duke of Guise, finally take the port of Calais from the English.
1785 Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American Dr. John Jeffries make the first crossing of the English Channel in a hydrogen balloon.
1807 Responding to Napoleon Bonaparte's attempted blockade of the British Isles, the British blockade Continental Europe.
1865 Cheyenne and Sioux warriors attack Julesburg, Colo., in retaliation for the Sand Creek Massacre.
1901 New York stock exchange trading exceeds two million shares for the first time in history.
1902 Imperial Court of China returns to Peking. The Empress Dowager resumes her reign.
1918 The Germans move 75,000 troops from the Eastern Front to the Western Front.
1934 Six thousand pastors in Berlin defy the Nazis insisting that they will not be silenced.
1944 The U.S. Air Force announces the production of the first jet-fighter, Bell P-59 Airacomet.
1945 U.S. air ace Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. is killed in the Pacific.
1952 French forces in Indochina launch Operation Violette in an effort to push Viet Minh forces away from the town of Ba Vi.
1955 Marian Anderson becomes the first African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera House.
1975 Vietnamese troops take Phuoc Binh in new full-scale offensive.
1979 Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge are overthrown when Vietnamese troops seize the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.
1980 US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation providing $1.5 billion in loans to salvage Chrysler Corporation.
1985 Vietnam seizes the Khmer National Liberation Front headquarters near the Thai border.
1985 Japan launches its first interplanetary spacecraft, Sakigake, the first deep space probe launched by any nation other than the US or the USSR.
1989 Prince Akihito is sworn in as Emperor of Japan, following the death of his father, Hirohito.
1990 Safety concerns over structural problems force the Leaning Tower of Pisa to be closed to the public.
1993 The Bosnian Army carries out a surprise attack on the village of Kravica in Srebrenica during the Bosnian War.
1999 The impeachment trial of US President Bill Clinton opens in the US Senate.
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Skip… the face of RTR has changed and the linking note for "The List" should reflect those changes. Here is the new note/link….
From The Bear…
The Bombing of North Vietnam(1965-1972). ROLLING THUNDER. COMMANDO HUNT. LINEBACKER. And the relentless search for the hundreds of aviation warriors we left behind in Southeast Asia as "Missing in Action." The priceless documents of TASK FORCE OMEGA, the record of five decades of the search for our missing accumulated by Patti Hopper and the families of those MIA in SEA, have been acquired and added to the RTR archives, thanks to Webmaster and owner of the RTR domain, Dan Heller.
Access: rollingthunderremembered.com
Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
rollingthunderremembered.com .
Skip,
A direct link for Task Force Omega files on Rolling Thunder Remembered is: TASK FORCE OMEGA SUMMARIES. There are about fifty posted thus far with many more on the way.
A link to Task Force Omega files can also be found on the homepage of Rolling Thunder Remembered. Also on the homepage is "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which links to RTR events on the given date the site is visited.
-Dan
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 "Monday 7 January
January 7: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2076
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/ )
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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Thanks to History Facts
The ancient Egyptians were the first to divide the day into 24 parts.
24-HOUR SUNDIAL
Ever wondered why there are 24 hours in a day? We have the ancient Egyptians to thank, at least in part. The basis for our modern calendar dates back to the New Kingdom period of ancient Egypt, around 1550 BCE to 1069 BCE. During this era — about a thousand years after the construction of the Great Pyramids of Giza — the Egyptians became the first civilization to divide the day into 24 smaller parts — though with a couple of key differences to how we do it today. For starters, the ancient timekeeping system tracked daytime and nighttime separately, with each divided into 12 parts. Also, these parts — which were measured in various ways, including sundials and water clocks — were not hours as we think of them today. Known as temporal hours or daylight hours, their length changed with the total amount of daylight at different times of year: For instance, the daytime hours would be longer in the summer than in the winter. So why 12? There are a couple of theories. Ancient astronomical tables suggest that nighttime was divided into 12 hours based on how the stars moved across the sky over time, as well as the cycles of the moon. It's also possible these Egyptian timekeepers were following the duodecimal system, which is based on the easily divisible number 12, and was used in many ancient cultures. It wasn't until the second century BCE that the idea emerged to break the day into 24 parts of equal length, a concept first introduced by the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus. The 24-hour day became the standard for tracking time throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, and remains so to this day
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Thanks to Bill
Your Yearly Dementia Test! (only 4 questions this year)
This one has some different questions than last year.
Yep, it's that time of year again for us to take our annual senior citizen test.
Exercise of the brain is as important as exercise of the muscles.
As we grow older, it's important to keep mentally alert.
If you don't use it, you will lose it !!
#1. What do you put in a toaster?
Answer: 'bread.' If you said 'toast', just give up now and go do something else. And, try not to hurt yourself.
If you said, bread, go to Question #2.
# 2. Say 'silk' ten times. Now spell 'silk.' What do cows drink?
Answer: Cows drink water. If you said 'milk,' don't attempt the next question. Your brain is already over-stressed and may even overheat.
Content yourself with reading more appropriate literature such as Women's Weekly or Auto World.
However, if you did say 'water', proceed to Question #3.
# 3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from?
Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass.
If you said 'green bricks', why are you still reading this? PLEASE, go and lie down! But, if you said 'glass,' go on to Question #4.
# 4. Please do not use a calculator for this for it would be cheating: You are driving a bus from Jurong to Changi. At Bukit Batok, 17 people got on the bus. At Clementi, 6 people get off the bus and 9 people get on. At Outram, 2 people get off and 4 get on. At Marine Parade, 11 people get off and 16 people get on. And at Eunos, 3 people get off and 5 people get on. You then arrive at Changi.
Without going back to review, how old is the bus driver?
Answer: Oh, for crying out loud!
Don't you remember your own age?!?! It was YOU driving the bus!
If you pass this along to your friends, pray they do better than you.
PS: 95% of people fail most of the questions!
If you had fun with this, send it on. I did... I already know that even when you missed a question, you went on to the next one, didn't you?
Congratulations! Life is like that, even when you fail, you keep going and persisting. Failure is no reason to give up!
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Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
https://geopoliticalfutures.com
Daily Memo: The Reason for a Second Kursk Offensive
It's a bargaining chip ahead of potential peace talks.
By Andrew Davidson
Jan 7, 2025
Ukrainian forces have launched another offensive in Russia's Kursk region following their initial assault that began last year inside Russia. Back in August, Ukraine launched an unexpected attack on the Russian territory. The purpose was to slow Russian advances in eastern Ukraine, from where troops would have to be pulled to counter the incursion. Though the attack was initially considered a measured success – the Ukrainian military took control of some 1,250 square kilometers (500 square miles) – it has since ground to a halt. Partly that's because Russia never had to remove its forces from eastern Ukraine. Instead, it sent as many as 50,000 troops, including 12,000 soldiers on loan from North Korea, to deal with Kursk, none of whom had been fighting in eastern Ukraine. Four months later, Russian forces are still advancing on Ukraine's eastern front, even as they steadily chip away at Ukraine in Kursk.
This is the context in which Ukraine began a second push into Kursk on Jan. 5. Media reports suggest Ukraine is using company-level assaults to advance farther into the Russian territory and has taken control of three additional settlements. That these positions have little strategic value in themselves shows that Ukraine is likely prioritizing its position for negotiations rather than regaining lost territory.
Indeed, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Jan. 6 said Ukraine's position in Kursk was vital for any future negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Economically, Kursk is one of Russia's major producers of iron ore, which contributed greatly to the region's $82 million in exports in 2022 prior to the invasion. This is particularly important since Russian land seizures in Ukraine have dampened economic activity, particularly agricultural production and Black Sea exports. Ukraine's gross domestic product grew by 3.8 percent last year, but without repairing current infrastructure damage and logistics, the best Kyiv can hope for going forward is partial economic recovery. For example, Russian destruction and occupation of certain steel plants has resulted in a 71 percent drop in production since 2022. Russian soldiers also occupy lithium deposit sites and coal mines in the east. The bottom line is that for Kyiv, eastern Ukraine is economically more important than Kursk, so if it's ignoring the former for the latter, there is a strategic reason to do so. This probably explains why Ukraine sent more reinforcements: Ukraine holds only about 50 percent of the territory it originally gained in Kursk. Russia has retaken the rest.
The costs of losing Kursk are relatively low, even if the opportunity cost is high. If Ukraine is forced to withdraw, it will still be able to fight another day. Retreat may create some morale problems at home, and losing there certainly doesn't help to rebuild or retake the infrastructure or territory that it has lost, but it won't decide the war. Likewise for Russia. Losing territory never reflects well on a leader, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has downplayed the incursion, preferring instead to focus on capturing more territory in eastern Ukraine. He is unlikely to face much pushback at home if Russian forces are repelled there. (So far, they've been fairly successful in the area anyway.) For Russia, reclaiming Kursk also means taking away Ukraine's main bargaining chip in negotiations, which would greatly hinder Ukraine's ability to barter for lost territory.
Which is not to say that Kursk is unimportant. It's just that it's more important as a bargaining chip than a tactical prize. Ukraine believes it is either easier or more important to take more Russian territory than it is to retake the land it has lost in the east. It's a tactical risk, but one that could pay off for Kyiv, especially if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prioritizes peace talks.
Andrew Davidson is currently an intern at GPF and completing a master's degree in international relations. Prior to joining GPF, he served in the U.S. Army for 11 years.
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Some bits and pieces from1440
Need To Know
Trudeau to Resign
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced yesterday he would resign from office, paving the way for his Liberal Party to choose a replacement ahead of general elections expected to take place by October. The move may help avoid a no-confidence vote by the legislature, which appeared likely after the New Democratic Party withdrew its support from Trudeau's coalition government.
Assuming power in 2015, Trudeau entered office with significant popular support while championing a progressive agenda. His approval ratings have since sunk from around 65% to close to 20%, driven in part by inflation, a housing crunch, and concerns over high levels of immigration. He was also criticized by members of his administration—including Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who resigned last month—over how to respond to tariff threats from President-elect Donald Trump.
Trudeau said he would remain in office while the party chooses a successor.
Disney's Live TV Deal
Disney has agreed to combine its Hulu+ Live TV service with FuboTV, forming North America's second-largest live TV streamer. The combined business will boast more than 6 million subscribers, behind YouTube TV's roughly 8 million subscribers.
The deal resolves litigation over the formation of Venu Sports—a joint venture from Disney's ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros.—which a judge blocked last year after FuboTV sued on antitrust grounds. As part of the legal settlement, Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. will pay Fubo $220M in cash; Disney will additionally provide a $145M term loan to Fubo in 2026. If the Fubo-Disney deal fails to close or gain regulatory approval, Disney will owe Fubo a $130M termination fee. Fubo shares soared more than 250% on yesterday's news.
Disney will own 70% of the combined business, which will operate under the publicly traded Fubo name. Fubo and Hulu+ Live TV will be available to subscribers separately; the deal excludes Hulu's original content streaming platform.
Gadgets Galore in Vegas
The 2025 Consumer Electronics Show begins today in Las Vegas, bringing together global companies, industry leaders, and tech enthusiasts for one of the world's largest electronics and tech events. With about 150,000 attendees and 4,500 exhibitors expected, the event will showcase the future of a projected $537B technology market.
The event features high-profile keynotes, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, along with press events, product launches, and a vast exhibition space. While artificial intelligence, especially AI agents and generative AI, will remain a focal point, the conference will also delve into digital health, energy transition, aging technology, and more. Attendees can expect to see the latest in smart TVs, home appliances, and innovative transportation concepts, with major automakers expected to debut cutting-edge electric vehicles, including a hands-on flying car experience.
It's easy to forget that our sweat isn't just water. But why is it that we only down a glass of water after a long run or a hot day? Our sweat consists of water and salt, so next time you're reaching for that glass of water ... remember to replenish electrolytes, too.
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Auburn University student Abbie Stockard crowned Miss America 2025; Miss Texas Annette Addo-Yobo named runner-up (More)
> Actors Zendaya and Tom Holland reportedly engaged (More) | 2025 Golden Globes ceremony brings in 10.1 million viewers, a 7% increase over 2024 (More)
> Tech-infused golf league TGL, founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, launches tonight (9 pm ET, ESPN) (More) | Jacksonville Jaguars' Doug Pederson, New England Patriots' Jerod Mayo among NFL head coach firings on NFL's "Black Monday" (More)
Science & Technology
> First fatal case of the H5N1 bird flu in humans recorded in the US; Louisiana patient had underlying medical conditions, officials say transmission between humans is rare, and broader risk remains low
> Lead pollution from mining and smelting operations likely caused an IQ decline in the population of ancient Rome; may be the first known example of widespread industrial pollution
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.6%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq +1.2%), with S&P 500 and Nasdaq led by chip stocks; Nvidia closes at record high, peer Micron Technology closes up 10% after electronics manufacturer Foxconn reports record Q4 revenue (More)
US Steel and Japan's Nippon Steel sue Biden administration over decision to block Nippon's nearly $15B proposed acquisition of US Steel; President Joe Biden struck down the deal last week on national security grounds
Politics & World Affairs
> Congress formally certifies President-elect Donald Trump's electoral win in the 2024 presidential election (More) | Rudy Giuliani held in contempt of court in $148M election workers' defamation judgment case (More)
> At least four people dead, including from road accidents, after winter storm brings heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures to US Midwest and East Coast
Historybook: Galileo Galilei discovers first three Jupiter moons (1610); First US presidential election completed (1789); Author Zora Neale Hurston born (1891); Inventor Nikola Tesla dies (1943); NFL star Lamar Jackson born (1997).
"One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."
- Nikola Tesla
Why 1440? The printing press was invented around the year 1440, spreading knowledge to the masses and changing the course of history. More facts: In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. We're here to make each one count.
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Thanks to Mike
TO UNDERSTAND A MILITARY VETERAN YOU MUST KNOW - - -
We left home as teenagers or in our early twenties for an unknown adventure.
We loved our country enough to defend it and protect it with our own lives.
We said goodbye to friends and family and everything we knew.
We learned the basics and then we scattered in the wind to the far corners of the Earth.
We found new friends and new family.
We became brothers and sisters regardless of color, race or creed.
We had plenty of good times, and plenty of bad times.
We didn't get enough sleep.
We smoked and drank too much.
We picked up both good and bad habits.
We worked hard and played harder.
We didn't earn a great wage.
We experienced the happiness of mail call, and the sadness of missing important events.
We didn't know when, or even if, we were ever going to see home again.
We grew up fast, and yet somehow, we never grew up at all.
We fought for our freedom, as well as the freedom of others.
Some of us saw actual combat, and some of us didn't.
Some of us saw the world, and some of us didn't.
Some of us dealt with physical warfare, most of us dealt with psychological warfare.
We have seen and experienced and dealt with things that we can't fully describe or explain, as not all of our sacrifices were physical.
We participated in time honored ceremonies and rituals with each other, strengthening our bonds and camaraderie.
We counted on each other to get our job done and sometimes to survive it at all.
We have dealt with victory and tragedy.
We have celebrated and mourned.
We lost a few along the way.
When our adventure was over, some of us went back home, some of us started somewhere new, and some of us never came home at all.
We have told amazing and hilarious stories of our exploits and adventures.
We share an unspoken bond with each other, that most people don't experience, and few will understand.
We speak highly of our own branch of service, and poke fun at the other branches.
We know however, that, if needed, we will be there for our brothers and sisters and stand together as one, in a heartbeat.
Being a Veteran is something that had to be earned, and it can never be taken away.
It has no monetary value, but at the same time it is a priceless gift.
People see a Veteran and they thank them for their service.
When we see each other, we give that little upwards head nod, or a slight smile, knowing that we have shared and experienced things that most people have not.
So, from myself to the rest of the veterans out there, I commend and thank you for all that you have done and sacrificed for our country.
Try to remember the good times and make peace with the bad times.
Share your stories.
But most importantly, stand tall and proud, for you have earned the right to be called a VETERAN.
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This Day in U.S. Military History 7 January
1608 – Disaster strikes Jamestown. The fort burns and leaves the colonists vulnerable to attack by Indians and the Spanish.
1718 – Israel Putnam, American Revolutionary War hero, was born. He planned the fortifications at the Battle of Bunker Hill and told his men, "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes."
1785 – Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon.
1865 – Cheyenne, Arapaho and Sioux warriors attack Julesburg, CO, in retaliation for the Sand Creek Massacre. After the massacre, the survivors had fled north to the Republican River where the main body of Cheyenne were camped. The Cheyennes sent a messenger to the Sioux and Arapaho inviting them to join them in a war on the whites. In early January 1865, as many as 2000 Cheyenne, Sioux and Arapaho warriors shifted their camps closer to the South Platte Trail where it cut through the northeast corner of Colorado. On January 6, a small party hit a wagon train and killed twelve men. Just before sunrise the following day, the majority of the Dog Soldiers and their allies concealed themselves in some sand hills a short distance from Fort Rankin and Julesburg, one mile up the Platte River, while the Cheyenne chief Big Crow slipped up to the fort. At first light he rushed the sentries stationed outside the walls. A sixty man cavalry troop quickly emerged from the gates to give chase and as soon as they were clear of the fort they were cut off from their base as more than a thousand warriors dashed from the sand hills and began to empty the cavalry saddles. All but a few were killed. As the remaining garrison prepared to defend the fort, the Indians raced up the Platte to the undefended Julesburg where they plundered at will while the soldiers at Fort Rankin could only watch and harmlessly fire their howitzers.
1904 – The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS".
1918 – In Arver v. United States, the Supreme Court finds that conscription during war is authorized by the Constitution which gives Congress the power "to declare war…to raise and support armies." There are several challenges to the government's power to draft armies which collectively become knows as the Selective Service Law Cases.
1927 – The first transatlantic telephone service is established – from New York, New York to London, United Kingdom.
1942 – The World War II siege of Bataan began in the Philippines.
1943 – On Guadalcanal, fresh American troops mount an assault on Mount Austen.
1943 – A Japanese convoy lands supplies and reinforcements at Lea, New Guinea despite air attacks.
1944 – The U.S. Air Force announces the production of the first jet-fighter, Bell P-59 Airacomet. Development of the P-59, America's first jet-propelled airplane, was ordered personally by General H. H. Arnold on September 4, 1941. The project was conducted under the utmost secrecy, with Bell building the airplane and General Electric the engine. The first P-59 was completed in mid-1942 and on October 1, 1942, it made its initial flight at Muroc Dry Lake (now Edwards Air Force Base), California. One year later, the airplane was ordered into production, to be powered by I-14 and I-16 engines, improved versions of the original I-A. Bell will produce 66 P-59s. Although the airplane's performance was not spectacular and it never got into combat, the P-59 provided training for AAF personnel and invaluable data for subsequent development of higher performance jet airplanes.
1945 – U.S. air ace Major Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. is killed in the Pacific.
1945 – British Gen. Bernard Montgomery gives a press conference in which he all but claims complete credit for saving the Allied cause in the Battle of the Bulge. He was almost removed from his command because of the resulting American outcry. On December 16, 1944, the Germans attempted to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. The Battle of the Bulge (so-called because the Germans, in pushing through the American defensive line, created a "bulge" around the area of the Ardennes forest) was the largest battle fought on the Western front. The German assault came in early morning at the weakest part of the Allied line, an 80-mile stretch of poorly protected, hilly forest that the Allies believed was too difficult to traverse, and therefore an unlikely location for a German offensive. Between the vulnerability of the thin, isolated American units and the thick fog that prevented Allied air cover from discovering German movement, the Germans were able to push the Americans into retreat. Fresh from commanding the 21st Army group during the Normandy invasion, and having suffered an awful defeat in September as his troops attempted to cross the Rhine, Montgomery took temporary command of the northern shoulder of American and British troops in the Ardennes. He immediately fell into a familiar pattern, failing to act spontaneously for fear of not being sufficiently prepared. Montgomery was afraid to move before the German army had fully exhausted itself, finally making what American commanders saw as only a belated counterattack against the enemy. As the weather improved, American air cover raided German targets on the ground, which proved the turning point in the Allied victory. Monty eventually cut across northern Germany all the way to the Baltic and accepted the German surrender in May. Montgomery had already earned the ire of many American officers because of his cautiousness in the field, arrogance off the field, and willingness to disparage his American counterparts. The last straw was Montgomery's whitewashing of the Battle of the Bulge facts to assembled reporters in his battlefield headquarters-he made his performance in the Ardennes sound not only more heroic but decisive, which necessarily underplayed the Americans' performance. Since the loss of American life in the battle was tremendous and the surrender of 7,500 members of the 106th Infantry humiliating, Gen. Omar Bradley complained loudly to Dwight D. Eisenhower, who passed the complaints on to Churchill. On January 18, Churchill addressed Parliament and announced in no uncertain terms that the "Bulge" was an American battle-and an American victory.
1945 – The attacks of the US 8th Corps of US 1st Army, along the line of the Ourthe west of Houffalize, record progress around Laroche. German attacks in Alsace also continue with some success south of Strasbourg in the area around Erstein.
1948 – Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell crashes while in pursuit of a supposed UFO. Previously, the news media often treated UFO reports with a whimsical or glib attitude reserved for silly season news. Following Mantell's death, however, Jacobs notes "the fact that a person had died in an encounter with an alleged flying saucer dramatically increased public concern about the phenomenon. Now a dramatic new prospect entered thought about UFOs: they might be not only extraterrestrial but potentially hostile as well." However, later investigation by the US Air Force's Project Blue Book indicated that Mantell died chasing a Skyhook balloon, which in 1948 was a top-secret project that Mantell would not have known about.
1953 – In his final State of the Union address before Congress, President Harry S. Truman tells the world that that the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. It was just three years earlier on January 31, 1950, that Truman publicly announced that had directed the Atomic Energy Commission to proceed with the development of the hydrogen bomb. Truman's directive came in responds to evidence of an atomic explosion occurring within USSR in 1949.
1960 – Launch of the first fully-guided flight of a Polaris missile at Cape Canaveral (flew 900 miles).
1960 – A small submarine, the Trieste, sets a new record for depth when it descends 24,000 feet into the Pacific off Guam.
1967 – The first elements of the Mobile Riverine Force reached Vietnam on when the USS Whitfield County (LST 1169) docked at Vung Tau. Training began immediately with the 2nd Brigade of the 9th Infantry Division. This unit, in preparation for the assignment to the Mobile Riverine Force, had gotten rid of their tanks, trucks, APCs and jeeps since there would obviously be little need for them in the Mekong Delta. In addition, some of their heavier artillery was also left behind since most of the necessary fi re support would be supplied by the assault boats.
1971 – Accompanied by Admiral Thomas Moorer, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Secretary Melvin Laird arrives in South Vietnam to assess the military situation. The purpose of Laird's visit was to check on the progress of the "Vietnamization" effort. In the summer of 1969, President Richard Nixon ordered that measures be taken to "Vietnamize" the war – he hoped to increase the capabilities of South Vietnamese forces so U.S. troops could eventually be withdrawn and the South Vietnamese could assume more responsibility for the war. This effort included a rapid modernization of South Vietnamese forces with new equipment and weapons, and a renewed emphasis on the American advisory effort. American troop withdrawals began in the fall of 1969 and continued on a regular basis. At the completion of his visit, Laird announced that the preponderance of U.S. "combat responsibility" would end by mid-summer. Upon his return to the United States, however, he warned President Nixon and his cabinet of "some tough days ahead." Admiral Moorer, who also had made a side trip to Phnom Penh, reported that the Cambodian situation was "deteriorating" as Premier Lon Nol's forces were being threatened by the communist Khmer Rouge forces and their North Vietnamese allies.
1968 – Surveyor 7, the last spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifts off from launch complex 36A, Cape Canaveral. Surveyor 7 was the fifth and final spacecraft of the Surveyor series to achieve a lunar soft landing. The objectives for this mission were to perform a lunar soft landing (in an area well removed from the maria to provide a type of terrain photography and lunar sample significantly different from those of other Surveyor missions); obtain postlanding TV pictures; determine the relative abundances of chemical elements; manipulate the lunar material; obtain touchdown dynamics data; and obtain thermal and radar reflectivity data. This spacecraft was similar in design to the previous Surveyors, but it carried more scientific equipment including a television camera with polarizing filters, a surface sampler, bar magnets on two footpads, two horseshoe magnets on the surface scoop, and auxiliary mirrors. Of the auxiliary mirrors, three were used to observe areas below the spacecraft, one to provide stereoscopic views of the surface sampler area, and seven to show lunar material deposited on the spacecraft. The spacecraft landed on the lunar surface on January 10, 1968, on the outer rim of the crater Tycho.
1975 – Vietnamese troops take Phuoc Binh in new full-scale offensive.
1993 – Largest military confrontation of Restore Hope. 500 Marines engage in a shoot-out with Warlord Aidid's forces in Mogadishu. 15 Somalis are taken POW, no US casualties.
2002 – Tony Blair arrived in Kabul. He said the West would not abandon Afghanistan. 9 US senators also visited the area.
2003 – Police in London announced they had found traces of the deadly poison ricin in a north London apartment and arrested six men in connection with the virulent toxin that has been linked to al-Qaida terrorists and Iraq.
2003 – Creation of the Select Committee on Homeland Security to help Congress coordinate oversight of the new Department of Homeland Security and to ensure implementation of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
2004 – L. Paul Bremer, the top American civilian official in Iraq, said U.S. authorities will release 506 low-level Iraqi prisoners while increasing the bounties for fugitives suspected of major roles in attacks against coalition forces.
2005 – A military jury at Fort Hood, Texas, acquitted Army SGT Tracy Perkins of involuntary manslaughter in the alleged drowning of an Iraqi civilian, but convicted him of assault in the January 2004 incident.
2005 – The nuclear submarine USS San Francisco ran aground 350 miles off the Pacific Ocean territory of Guam, injuring about 20 crew members. One died the next day.
2007 – President George W. Bush announces that he will send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq as part of a shift in American military strategy. Under this new strategy, labeled "the surge," American troops will pacify and protect individual neighborhoods rather than combat sectarian violence through mobile patrols.
2007 – The US intervenes in the Battle of Ras Kamboni, a battle in the 2006-2007 Somali War fought by the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and affiliated militias against Ethiopian and the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces for control of Ras Kamboni, a town near the Kenyan border which once served as a training camp for the militant Islamist group Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya. The battle began on January 5, 2007, when TFG and Ethiopian forces launched their assault. The United States entered the conflict by launching airstrikes using an AC-130 gunship against suspected Al Qaeda members operating within the ranks of the ICU. The town finally fell to the TFG and Ethiopian forces on January 12, 2007.
2008 – Two United States Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets, a F/A-18E and two-seat F/A-18F, flying off the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, crash in the Persian Gulf. The aviators were safely recovered. There was no indication of hostile fire.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*SHOUP, CURTIS F
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company I, 346th Infantry, 87th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Tillet, Belgium, 7 January 1945. Entered service at: Buffalo, N.Y. Birth: Napenoch, N.Y. G.0. No.: 60, 25 July 1945. Citation: On 7 January 1945, near Tillet, Belgium, his company attacked German troops on rising ground. Intense hostile machinegun fire pinned down and threatened to annihilate the American unit in an exposed position where frozen ground made it impossible to dig in for protection. Heavy mortar and artillery fire from enemy batteries was added to the storm of destruction falling on the Americans. Realizing that the machinegun must be silenced at all costs, S/Sgt. Shoup, armed with an automatic rifle, crawled to within 75 yards of the enemy emplacement. He found that his fire was ineffective from this position, and completely disregarding his own safety, stood up and grimly strode ahead into the murderous stream of bullets, firing his low-held weapon as he went. He was hit several times and finally was knocked to the ground. But he struggled to his feet and staggered forward until close enough to hurl a grenade, wiping out the enemy machinegun nest with his dying action. By his heroism, fearless determination, and supreme sacrifice, S/Sgt. Shoup eliminated a hostile weapon which threatened to destroy his company and turned a desperate situation into victory.
*SPECKER, JOE C.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, 48th Engineer Combat Battalion. Place and date: At Mount Porchia, Italy, 7 January 1944. Entered service at: Odessa, Mo. Birth: Odessa, Mo. G.O. No.. 56, 12 July 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty, in action involving actual conflict. On the night of 7 January 1944, Sgt. Specker, with his company, was advancing up the slope of Mount Porchia, Italy. He was sent forward on reconnaissance and on his return he reported to his company commander the fact that there was an enemy machinegun nest and several well-placed snipers directly in the path and awaiting the company. Sgt. Specker requested and was granted permission to place 1 of his machineguns in a position near the enemy machinegun. Voluntarily and alone he made his way up the mountain with a machinegun and a box of ammunition. He was observed by the enemy as he walked along and was severely wounded by the deadly fire directed at him. Though so seriously wounded that he was unable to walk, he continued to drag himself over the jagged edges of rock and rough terrain until he reached the position at which he desired to set up his machinegun. He set up the gun so well and fired so accurately that the enemy machine-gun nest was silenced and the remainder of the snipers forced to retire, enabling his platoon to obtain their objective. Sgt. Specker was found dead at his gun. His personal bravery, self-sacrifice, and determination were an inspiration to his officers and fellow soldiers.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for January 7, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
7 January
1945: Far East Air Forces joined the 3d Fleet in air attacks on enemy airfields in northern Luzon, Philippines. This attack was the largest coordinated mission of light and medium bombers (132) to date in the Southwest Pacific. (24)
1960: An American Airlines Electra flew 540 miles per hour to set a record of 1 hour 11 minutes 30 seconds from Chicago, Ill., to Washington DC. (5)
1963: Bell Telephone Laboratory scientists repaired Telstar I in flight in an unprecedented ground operation. (5)
1966: The 4200th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, Calif., received the first operational SR-71 (Tail No. 61-7957). (1) The US Junior Chamber of Commerce named Lt Col Edward H. White, a Gemini IV Astronaut, one of the 10 outstanding young men of 1965. (16)
1968: The National Air and Space Administration's Surveyor VII, the last spacecraft in the program to analyze the lunar surface, launched from the Eastern Test Range, Fla., on an Atlas-Centaur rocket (AC-15) on a 67-hour lunar intercept trajectory. It touched down on 9 January in Tycho crater after a 66-hour 35-minute flight and began sending the first of 21,274 detailed pictures back to earth. (5)
1989: Operation MEDFLY 89. Through 20 January, the 167th Tactical Airlift Group flew medical personnel and supplies aboard two C-130 Hercules to Liberia to support Medfly 89. This joint service humanitarian effort trained medical personnel in inoculating people against diseases and treating ailments. (16)
1995: Operation UNISOM II. Through 24 March, Air Mobility Command supported the withdrawal of United Nations forces from Somalia by deploying some U. S. forces to Kenya to cover the withdrawal and then returning the forces to the U. S. The returning flights stopped at Moron AB, Spain, which served as a stage base and refueling site for the operation. Besides Moron, Air Mobility Command units deployed to Mombasa and Nairobi, Kenya. The KC-135s at Nairobi refueled AC-130 gunships. Altogether, Air Mobility Command's airlifters and contracted commercial flights flew 59 missions to carry over 1,400 passengers and over 1,400 short tons of cargo. (18)
2005: Colonel Joseph Lanni, the 412th Test Wing Commander at Edwards AFB, Calif., delivered an F/A-22 Raptor to Langley AFB, Va. That Raptor, the fifth built, formed the nucleus of the first operational F-22 squadron. (3)
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