To All,
Good Saturday morning February 15.The day after the big rain I found that we got well over an inch and maybe close to two. Everything I found from the pool and a wheel barrow toa few pots had at least two inches in it.We are drying out with partly cloudy skies and temps from 44 to 66. \
Have a great weekend
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 86 H-Grams
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
February 15
1856—The stores-ship, Supply, commanded by Lt. David Dixon Porter, sails from Smyrna, Syria, bound for Indianola, TX, with a load of 21 camels intended for experimental use in the American desert west of the Rockies.
1898—The battleship Maine explodes in Havana Harbor and nearly three-quarters of the battleship's crew die as a result of the blast. Popular opinion blames Spain, and the Spanish-American war starts soon after.
1943—USS Gato (SS 212) sinks Japanese stores ship Suruga Maru in Bougainville Strait and USS Pickerel (SS 177) attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks cargo vessel Tateyama Maru off the east coast of Honshu.
1944—While serving as commander of a Catalina patrol plane, Lt. Nathan Gordon responds to a report of U.S. Army Fifth Air Force personnel shot down over Kavieng Harbor in the Bismarck Sea. Risking his life and under Japanese fire, he makes a daring rescue mission, saving 15 service members from certain death or capture by the enemy. For his "extraordinary heroism," Gordon is awarded the Medal of Honor.
1960—Icebreakers USS Burton Island (AGB 1) and USS Glacier (AGB 4) become the first U.S. Navy vessels to reach Thurston Peninsula in the Antarctic.
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This Day in World History
15 February
1798 The first serious fist fight occurs in Congress.
1804 New Jersey becomes the last northern state to abolish slavery.
1862 Union General Ulysses S. Grant launches a major assault on Fort Donelson, Tenn.1869 Charges of treason against Jefferson Davis are dropped.
1898 The U.S. battleship Maine blows up in Havana Harbor, killing 268 sailors and bringing hordes of Western cowboys and gunfighters rushing to enlist in the Spanish-American War.
1900 The British threaten to use natives in the Boer War fight.
1925 The London Zoo announces it will install lights to cheer up fogged-in animals.
1934 U.S. Congress passes the Civil Works Emergency Relief Act, allotting new funds for Federal Emergency Relief Administration.
1940 Hitler orders that all British merchant ships will be considered warships.
1942 British forces in Singapore surrender to Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
1943 The Germans break the American Army's lines at the Fanid-Sened Sector in Tunisia, North Africa.
1944 American bombers attack the Abbey of Monte Cassino in an effort to neutralize it as a German observation post in central Italy.
1946 Royal Canadian mounted police arrest 22 as Soviet spies.
1950 Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-tung sign a mutual defense treaty in Moscow.
1957 Andrei Gromyko replaces Dmitri T. Shepilov as the Soviet Foreign Minister.
1961 Eighteen members of the U.S. figure skating team are lost in an airplane crash in Belgium.
1965 Canada's maple leaf flag is raised for the first time.
1967 Thirteen U.S. helicopters are shot down in one day in Vietnam
1974 U.S. gas stations threaten to close because of federal fuel policies.
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
February14
Hello All,
Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear
Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.
An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).
If you have any questions or comments about RTR/TFO, or have a question on my book, you may e-mail me directly at acrossthewing@protonmail.com. Thank you 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 "Saurday 15 February
February 15: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=446
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/ )
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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Martha Raye
Thanks to Bill
I have had a note like this in the List many years ago. There is another out there that modifies this one a bit but she was still an extraordinary woman….skip
For those of you about my age, you will enjoy this. Before this I only remember that Martha Raye was Funny and had a large mouth. Maybe there should be a TV channel that only shows stuff like this.
It was well recognized that Martha Raye endured less comfort more than any other Vietnam entertainer. Don't let the sun go down without reading this about Martha Raye.
The most unforgivable oversight of TV is that her shows were not taped. I was unaware of her credentials or where she is buried.
Somehow I just can't see Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton, or Jessica Simpson doing what this woman and the other USO women, including Ann Margaret & Joey Heatherton did for our troops in past wars. Most of the old time entertainers were made of a lot sterner stuff.
The following is from an Army aviator who takes a trip down memory lane:
"It was just before Thanksgiving '67 and we were ferrying dead and wounded from a large GRF west of Pleiku. We had run out of body bags by noon, so the Hook (CH-47 CHINOOK) was pretty rough in the back. All of a sudden, we heard a 'take-charge' woman's voice in the rear. There was the singer and actress, Martha Raye, with a Special Forces beret and jungle fatigues, with subdued markings, helping the wounded into the Chinook and carrying the dead aboard. Martha had been visiting her Special Forces (SF) 'heroes' out 'west'.
We took off, short of fuel, and headed to the USAF hospital pad at Pleiku. As we all started unloading our sad pax's, a USAF Captain said to Martha.... "Ms. Raye, with all these dead and wounded to process, there would not be time for your show!"
To our surprise, she pulled on her right collar and said "Captain, see this eagle? I am a full 'Bird' in the US Army Reserve and on this is a 'Caduceus' which means I am a nurse, with a surgical specialty.... now, take me to your wounded!"
He said, "Yes, ma'am. Follow me."
Several times at the Army Field Hospital in Pleiku, she would 'cover' a surgical shift, giving a nurse a well-deserved break. Martha is the only woman buried in the SF (Special Forces) cemetery at Ft Bragg.
Hand salute! A great lady. I did not know this about Martha Raye and thought you might like to read it
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Thanks to `440
One Big Headline
Rain Pounds California
California has been battered by its biggest winter storm this season over the last two days, with flooding, mudslides, hurricane-force winds, and heavy snow. The storm caused significant damage, particularly in areas near burn scars from January's wildfires, with mud and debris blocking roadways in areas including Malibu. Evacuations were ordered near the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire burn areas due to the risk of mudslides and flash flooding.
Some areas received more than 10 inches of rain, and Death Valley National Park—North America's hottest place—also received some rainfall. The Sierra Nevada experienced extreme conditions with a 126 mph wind gust and up to 55 inches of new snow at Mammoth Mountain. The latter figure is more snow than in December and January combined. Conditions are expected to improve by the weekend, aiding cleanup efforts. See photos from the storm here.
The weather system is fueled by an atmospheric river—a band of moisture in the sky with water vapor levels comparable to average flow levels at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Did you know President John Quincy Adams could each speak more than five languages, a skill that not only made him an effective foreign diplomat, but one of the most well-traveled presidents of his time?
Treasury watchdog begins audit of DOGE's access to payment systems.
The Office of Inspector General initiated an audit into the security controls of the government's payment system and the access granted to the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. The audit, prompted by worries over DOGE's activities, will also review the past two years of transactions in relation to alleged fraud.
Rwanda-backed rebels capture second Congo airport.
The M23 rebels have seized control of Kavumu Airport, a strategic facility serving Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The development comes just before the annual African Union summit in Ethiopia and has heightened fears of an imminent attack on Bukavu.
Study finds ancient Egyptian mummy remains smell pleasant.
Well-preserved Egyptian mummies emit pleasant aromas described as "woody," "spicy," and "sweet," which is attributed to the oils, waxes, and balms used during the mummification process. By analyzing these scents, researchers aim to recreate them for museum exhibits and gain insights into a mummy's social status and preservation state, potentially improving conservation efforts.
"Goonies 2" officially in the works with Steven Spielberg producing.
Almost 40 years after the original film's release in 1985, Warner Bros. is moving forward with a sequel to "The Goonies." The original film centered on a group of misfit kids who find an old map and embark on an adventure to find a pirate's lost treasure. A screenwriter has been tapped, and a director has yet to sign on. It is unclear which of the original cast members are set to return.
Russian drone strike on Chernobyl plant damages reactor shield.
Ukraine said Russia's drone struck the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant early Friday, damaging the protective shield over the destroyed fourth reactor and starting a fire, which was later extinguished. Radiation levels remain normal at this time. Chernobyl was the site of the world's worst civil nuclear accident when one of its four reactors exploded in 1986.
Pope Francis admitted to hospital for bronchitis, Vatican says.
The 88-year-old was diagnosed with bronchitis last week and is being hospitalized for treatment and diagnostic tests. The Vatican said the pope had a respiratory tract infection, a slight fever, and difficulty breathing. The hospitalization is the latest in a string of health issues for the pontiff, including a recent lung infection and previous hospitalizations for intestinal problems.
Today, we're sharing a story from reader Wendy R. in Covington, Virginia.
"I was taking my 5-year-old granddaughter into the city on the high-speed train for a day of fun. It was her first train ride, and she was excited but nervous. She took her favorite stuffed animal to hold and hug. When the train arrived for boarding, she forgot her stuffie on the bench on the platform, and she immediately started crying. Since the train was leaving in less than a minute I didn't want to go back and risk missing the train."
"A young man who had just exited the train heard her crying and ran and grabbed the stuffie, then darted back thru the doors as they were closing. He had retrieved her beloved baby but was now stuck on the train! His smile never faltered as I thanked him and apologized that he'd missed his stop. He was so humble and unbothered. We were able to chat with him to the next stop and got to know him a little. He's a great example of a fine, kind young man, and I will forever be grateful he saved a little stuffie loved by a little girl."
Bookkeeping
> 47: The number of unprovoked shark bites last year, down by 22 from 2023.
> 940 million: The number of flowers processed through Miami for Valentine's Day.
Historybook: Astronomer Galileo Galilei born (1564); Women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony born (1820); Musician Nat King Cole dies (1965); Soviet-Afghan War ends as all Soviet troops depart Afghanistan (1989); Actress Raquel Welch dies (2023).
"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do."
- Galileo Galilei
Thanks to Carl
Logan Franklin Feb 15, 2023
"In my 30s, I exercised to look good. In my 50s, to stay fit. In my 70s, to stay ambulatory. In my 80s, to avoid assisted living. Now, in my 90s, I'm just doing it out of pure defiance." —Dick Van Dyke.
Pushing the Limits
For a long time one of the things most frequently asked by seniors has been about High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). In short, they want to know if they should do it.
Here's what I know. High-intensity intervals are great for overall physical conditioning and they also burn off fat better than, say, aerobics such as long slow distance running. But the question then becomes: is high-intensity training age-appropriate (meaning safe) for seniors?
For young seniors, let's say those in their 50s, who are in pretty decent shape and with no prohibitive underlying health problems, the answer is an easy yes. However, as we get older the answer is not so clear-cut. For older seniors, just how intense should exercise be? Are we talking about, for example, Tabata? That's pretty tough stuff for the very elderly. Interval training can be good at almost any age, but maybe there comes a time when the intensity should be toned down.
For senior beginners of all ages, and especially overweight senior beginners, a much smarter approach than HIIT is to ease into training with a beginners' strength and fitness program. Then, later on, higher-intensity intervals may come into play.
Until I was 80, I'd sneak in some Tabata, maybe once a week or so. Now at 86, I don't go near that kind of intensity. Any exercise I do isn't nearly as intense as it used to be. I simply keep up a steady movement for about 30 minutes, sometimes combining resistance work with light cardio.
Years ago, a newsletter subscriber, Franco, sent this wonderful quote from the actor/comedian Dick Van Dyke.
"In my 30s, I exercised to look good. In my 50s, to stay fit. In my 70s, to stay ambulatory. In my 80s, to avoid assisted living. Now, in my 90s, I'm just doing it out of pure defiance." —Dick Van Dyke.
People also ask about the high-intensity programs they see in TV infomercials. Most of those programs aren't sustainable for seniors, at least not for me personally. Not as they are shown on TV anyway. Even when I was young I didn't believe in pushing myself to the limit workout after workout, as in HIIT. On the few occasions, I tried going all out at every session, I soon began to dread training.
Extreme training gets riskier as we get older. Be smart. Older folks should let their doctors know what they're up to. And if HIIT is part of your plan (you younger seniors), ease into it. Don't jump in at full-throttle.
Here are a few workout guidelines that I almost universally recommend:
• All balanced fitness programs should include elements of a) strength training, b) cardiovascular exercise, and c) flexibility movements. Based on personal preferences and goals, you can put emphasis on either a, b, or c; but totally ignoring any one of them won't provide a balanced fitness program. Some interval circuit training arrangements can combine all three elements in a single workout, or, of course, they can be divided into separate segments.
• Don't do marathon workout sessions. Generally, anything over an hour in a gym is too much. Less than an hour is usually even better, provided that it is time-spent training, not standing around talking. Yes, I know Jack LaLanne is said to have been doing two-hour-plus workouts into his nineties. He was one in a million.
• Cross training (mixing things up) can be fun because changes of routine tend to keep things interesting, and overuse injuries are more preventable than when doing the same movements over and over, month after month, year after year.
• Select exercise programs that appeal to you. Group exercise classes, for example, are right for some people. Others hate them. Whether training in groups or training alone, strength, cardiovascular and flexibility movements can all be done using only your own bodyweight exercises. On the other hand, why not include free weights, resistance bands or kettlebells if they are available to you? Have fun. Mix them up.
There is a training lifestyle for every taste and to meet every fitness goal.
Stay healthy. Stay fit.
Logan
Senior Exercise Central
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Interesting Facts
"IKEA" is an acronym.
You'd be forgiven for assuming that IKEA is a Swedish word related to furniture. In fact, it's an acronym that combines the initials of founder Ingvar Kamprad (IK) with the name of the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd) and a nearby village (Agunnaryd). Kamprad was just 17 when he founded the company in 1943, initially selling small household items — think pens and wallets — rather than beds and sofas. He likely had no idea that there would one day be more than 450 IKEA stores across the globe.
IKEA isn't the only unexpected acronym. It's joined on that list by "laser" (light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation), "scuba" (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), "radar" (RAdio detection and ranging), and even fellow Swedes ABBA (Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid).
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From the archives
Thanks to Carl
How Dogs 'See' the World and Sense Your Mood
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This Day in U S Military History
February 15
1898 – A massive explosion of unknown origin sinks the battleship USS Maine in Cuba's Havana harbor, killing 260 of the fewer than 400 American crew members aboard. One of the first American battleships, the Maine weighed more than 6,000 tons and was built at a cost of more than $2 million. Ostensibly on a friendly visit, the Maine had been sent to Cuba to protect the interests of Americans there after a rebellion against Spanish rule broke out in Havana in January. An official U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry ruled in March that the ship was blown up by a mine, without directly placing the blame on Spain. Much of Congress and a majority of the American public expressed little doubt that Spain was responsible and called for a declaration of war. Subsequent diplomatic failures to resolve the Maine matter, coupled with United States indignation over Spain's brutal suppression of the Cuban rebellion and continued losses to American investment, led to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in April 1898. Within three months, the United States had decisively defeated Spanish forces on land and sea, and in August an armistice halted the fighting. On December 12, 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed between the United States and Spain, officially ending the Spanish-American War and granting the United States its first overseas empire with the ceding of such former Spanish possessions as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. In 1976, a team of American naval investigators concluded that the Maine explosion was likely caused by a fire that ignited its ammunition stocks, not by a Spanish mine or act of sabotage.
1944 – Allied aircraft bomb the historic monastery on the crest of Monte Cassino. German forces, which have not occupied the position previously, move into the ruins of the monastery. The New Zealand Corps (part of US 5th Army) follows-up the bombing with an assault which fails.
1946 – ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) was the first electronic general-purpose computer. It was Turing-complete, digital, and capable of being reprogrammed to solve "a large class of numerical problems". ENIAC was initially designed to calculate artillery firing tables for the United States Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory. When ENIAC was announced in 1946 it was heralded in the press as a "Giant Brain". It had a speed of one thousand times that of electro-mechanical machines. This computational power, coupled with general-purpose programmability, excited scientists and industrialists. ENIAC's design and construction was financed by the United States Army, Ordnance Corps, Research and Development Command which was led by Major General Gladeon Marcus Barnes. He was Chief of Research and Engineering, the Chief of the Research and Development Service, Office of the Chief of Ordnance during World War II. The construction contract was signed on June 5, 1943, and work on the computer began in secret by the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Electrical Engineering starting the following month under the code name "Project PX". The completed machine was announced to the public the evening of February 14, 1946 and formally dedicated the next day at the University of Pennsylvania, having cost almost $500,000 (approximately $6,000,000 today). It was formally accepted by the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps in July 1946. ENIAC was shut down on November 9, 1946 for a refurbishment and a memory upgrade, and was transferred to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland in 1947. There, on July 29, 1947, it was turned on and was in continuous operation until 11:45 p.m. on October 2, 1955. Finished shortly after the end of World War II, one of its first programs was a study of the feasibility of the hydrogen bomb. A few months after its unveiling, in the summer of 1946, as part of "an extraordinary effort to jump-start research in the field" the Pentagon invited "the top people in electronics and mathematics from the United States and Great Britain" to a series of forty-eight lectures altogether called The Theory and Techniques for Design of Digital Computers more often named the Moore School Lectures. Half of these lectures were given by the inventors of ENIAC.
1951 – The communists were defeated at Chipyong-ni by the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division's 23rd Infantry Regimental Combat Team (RCT) and the French Battalion. At the climax of the battle, the 1st Cavalry Division's Task Force Crombez broke through to support the encircled 23rd RCT. After three days of intense combat and having suffered perhaps 8,000 casualties, the Chinese forces withdrew. The 23rd RCT suffered 52 killed, 42 missing and 259 wounded in action. This was the first major battlefield defeat of the Chinese communist forces in the war.
1954 – Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska. The DEW Line was operational from 1957 to the late 1980s and it was the northernmost and most capable of three radar lines in Canada and Alaska; the joint Canadian-US Pinetree Line ran from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, and the Mid-Canada Line ran somewhat north of this.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
WOMBLY, VOLTAIRE P.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company F, 2d lowa Infantry. Place and date: At Fort Donelson, Tenn., 15 February 1862. Entered service at: Keosauqua, Van Buren County, lowa. Birth: Van Buren County, lowa. Date of issue: 12 March 1897. Citation: Took the colors after 3 of the color guard had fallen, and although most instantly knocked down by a spent ball, immediately arose and bore the colors to the end of the engagement.
BURGER, JOSEPH
Rank and organization: Private, Company H, 2d Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Nolensville, Tenn., 15 February 1863. Entered service at: Crystal Lake, Minn. Birth: Austria. Date of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train.
CLARK, WILLIAM A.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company H, 2d Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Nolensville, Tenn., 15 February 1863. Entered service at: Shelbyville, Minn. Birth: Pennsylvania. Date of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train.
FLANNIGAN, JAMES
Rank and organization: Private, Company H, 2d Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Nolensville, Tenn., 15 February 1863. Entered service at: Louisville, Scott County, Minn. Birth: New York. Date of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train.
HANNA, MILTON
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company H, 2d Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Nolensville, Tenn., 15 February 1863. Entered service at: Henderson, Minn. Birth: Lickland County, Ohio. Date of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train.
HOLMES, LOVILO N.
Rank and organization: First Sergeant, Company H, 2d Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Nolensville, Tenn., 15 February 1863. Entered service at: Mankato, Minn. Birth: Cattaraugus County, N.Y. Date of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train.
PAY, BYRON E.
Rank and organization: Private, Company H, 2d Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Nolensville, Tenn., 15 February 1863. Entered service at: Mankato, Minn. Born: 21 October 1844, LeRoy Township, Jefferson County, N.Y. Date of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train.
VALE, JOHN
Rank and organization: Private, Company H, 2d Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Nolensville, Tenn., 15 February 1863. Entered service at: Rochester, Minn. Birth: England. Date of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train.
WRIGHT, SAMUEL
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company H, 2d Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Nolensville, Tenn., 15 February 1863. Entered service at: Swan Lake, Minn. Birth: Indiana. Date of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train.
LOW, GEORGE
Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1847, Canada. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 326, 18 October 1884. Citation: For jumping overboard from the U.S.S. Tennessee at New Orleans, La., 15 February 1881, and sustaining, until picked up by a boat's crew, N. P. Petersen, gunner's mate, who had fallen overboard.
FLUCKEY, EUGENE BENNETT Lucky Fluckey his great book is called Thunder Below…skip
Rank and organization: Commander, U.S. Navy, Commanding U.S.S. Barb. Place and date: Along coast of China, 19 December 1944 to 15 February 1945. Entered service at: Illinois. Born: S October 1913, Washington, D.C. Other Navy award: Navy Cross with 3 Gold Stars. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Barb during her 11th war patrol along the east coast of China from 19 December 1944 to 15 February 1945. After sinking a large enemy ammunition ship and damaging additional tonnage during a running 2-hour night battle on 8 January, Comdr. Fluckey, in an exceptional feat of brilliant deduction and bold tracking on 25 January, located a concentration of more than 30 enemy ships in the lower reaches of Nankuan Chiang (Mamkwan Harbor). Fully aware that a safe retirement would necessitate an hour's run at full speed through the uncharted, mined, and rock-obstructed waters, he bravely ordered, "Battle station–torpedoes!" In a daring penetration of the heavy enemy screen, and riding in 5 fathoms of water, he launched the Barb's last forward torpedoes at 3,000-yard range. Quickly bringing the ship's stern tubes to bear, he turned loose 4 more torpedoes into the enemy, obtaining 8 direct hits on 6 of the main targets to explode a large ammunition ship and cause inestimable damage by the resultant flying shells and other pyrotechnics. Clearing the treacherous area at high speed, he brought the Barb through to safety and 4 days later sank a large Japanese freighter to complete a record of heroic combat achievement, reflecting the highest credit upon Comdr. Fluckey, his gallant officers and men, and the U.S. Naval Service.
GORDON, NATHAN GREEN
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, commander of Catalina patrol plane. Place and date: Bismarck Sea, 15 February 1944. Entered service at: Arkansas. Born: 4 September 1916, Morrilton, Ark. Citation: For extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty as commander of a Catalina patrol plane in rescuing personnel of the U.S. Army 5th Air Force shot down in combat over Kavieng Harbor in the Bismarck Sea, 15 February 1944. On air alert in the vicinity of Vitu Islands, Lt. (then Lt. j.g.) Gordon unhesitatingly responded to a report of the crash and flew boldly into the harbor, defying close-range fire from enemy shore guns to make 3 separate landings in full view of the Japanese and pick up 9 men, several of them injured. With his cumbersome flying boat dangerously overloaded, he made a brilliant takeoff despite heavy swells and almost total absence of wind and set a course for base, only to receive the report of another group stranded in a rubber life raft 600 yards from the enemy shore. Promptly turning back, he again risked his life to set his plane down under direct fire of the heaviest defenses of Kavieng and take aboard 6 more survivors, coolly making his fourth dexterous takeoff with 15 rescued officers and men. By his exceptional daring, personal valor, and incomparable airmanship under most perilous conditions, Lt. Gordon prevented certain death or capture of our airmen by the Japanese.
*WILLETT, LOUIS E.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division. Place and date: Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 15 February 1967. Entered service at: Brooklyn, N.Y. Born: 19 June 1945, Brooklyn, N.Y. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Willett distinguished himself while serving as a rifleman in Company C, during combat operations. His squad was conducting a security sweep when it made contact with a large enemy force. The squad was immediately engaged with a heavy volume of automatic weapons fire and pinned to the ground. Despite the deadly fusillade, Pfc. Willett rose to his feet firing rapid bursts from his weapon and moved to a position from which he placed highly effective fire on the enemy. His action allowed the remainder of his squad to begin to withdraw from the superior enemy force toward the company perimeter. Pfc. Willett covered the squad's withdrawal, but his position drew heavy enemy machinegun fire, and he received multiple wounds enabling the enemy again to pin down the remainder of the squad. Pfc. Willett struggled to an upright position, and, disregarding his painful wounds, he again engaged the enemy with his rifle to allow his squad to continue its movement and to evacuate several of his comrades who were by now wounded. Moving from position to position, he engaged the enemy at close range until he was mortally wounded. By his unselfish acts of bravery, Pfc. Willett insured the withdrawal of his comrades to the company position, saving their lives at the cost of his life. Pfc. Willett's valorous actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for February 15, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
15 February
1908: The US government received bids for its first airship (see 24 February 1908). (24)
1910: The Signal Corps relocated its flight training program from College Park, Md., to Fort Sam Houston, Tex. (21)
1943: Maj. Gen. Ira C. Eaker will replace Maj. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz as commander of the Eighth Air Force. Spaatz will move to the Mediterranean to command the air operations for TORCH, the invasion of North Africa.
1944: Twelfth Air Force sent 254 B-17 and B-25 bombers to attack and destroy the Abbey of Monte Cassino, Italy. The US Fifth Army did not take the ruins until 18 May, which allowed the US Fifth and British Eighth Armies to advance on Rome. (21)
1948: The XF-87 Blackhawk made its first flight at Edwards AFB, Calif. (5)
1951: To 16 February, H-5 pilots of the 3d Air Rescue Squadron flew through a blinding snowstorm and 40-knot winds to deliver blood plasma and medical supplies to the US Army's 2d Division at Chipyong, Korea. They also evacuated 52 wounded men. (26)
1953: A Northwest Airlines Stratocruiser set a 15-hour, 10-minute record for a flight between Tokyo, Japan, and Seattle, Wash. (24)
1961: The Tactical Air Command received the first T-39B jet trainer at Nellis AFB, Nev.
1962: In the fifth consecutive silo launching, a Minuteman I missile set a new record by flying 3,900 miles, the longest distance for the Minuteman to date. (16) (24)
1963: The North American YAT-28E first flew. (5)
1965: The first OH-13E "Bubbletop" helicopter arrived at Edwards AFB, Calif., for use in a vertical short take-off and landing test pilot training program. (3)
1975: The first pre-production A-10 completed its initial flight at Edwards AFB, Calif. (3)
1978: During Operation SNOW BLOW II, USAF C-5s, C-141s, and C-130s deliver 2,300 tons of snow-removal equipment and other supplies to snowbound New England after a blizzard on 6 February closed most transportation lines in the state of Rhode Island. More than 1,000 passengers are airlifted to safety during the operation.
1979: A Minuteman III missile launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to the Kwajalein missile range, where it deployed three Mark 12A reentry vehicles. (5)
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