Good Monday morning February 24. The weather is another good day here with 79 as the high and no clouds. Got one hutch done
Have a great weekend wherever you are.
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. 24
Yesterday was the 79th Anniversary of the Iwo Jima Flag Raising.
1813—The sloop of war Hornet, commanded by Capt. James Lawrence, encounters HMS Peacock off British Guyana and easily wins the engagement.
1942—Task Force 16, commanded by Vice Adm. William F. Halsey Jr., leads the Wake Island Raid in an attempt to destroy the Japanese installations on the island.
1944—PBY-5As (VP 63) employing Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) gear, bomb and sink German submarine U 761 as she attempts to transit the Straits of Gibraltar.
1945—USS Lagarto (SS 371) sinks Japanese submarine I 371 and freighter Tatsumomo Maru off Bungo Strait, Kyushu.
1959—USS Galveston (CLG 3) fired the first Talos surface-to-air missile.
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Today in World History: February 24
.0786 Pepin the Short of Gaul dies. His dominions are divided between his sons Charles (Charlemagne) and Carloman.
1525 In the first of the Franco-Habsburg Wars, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V captures the French king Francis I at the Battle of Pavia, Italy.
1538 Ferdinand of Hapsburg and John Zapolyai, the two kings of Hungary, conclude the peace of Grosswardein.
1803 Chief Justice John Marshall, by refusing to rule on the case of Marbury vs. Madison, asserts the authority of the judicial branch.
1813 Off Guiana, the American sloop Hornet sinks the British sloop Peacock.
1821 Mexico gains independence from Spain.
1836 Some 3,000 Mexicans launch an assault on the Alamo with its 182 Texan defenders.
1895 The Cuban War of Independence begins.
1908 Japan officially agrees to restrict emigration to the U.S.
1912 The Jewish organization Hadassah is founded in New York City.
1912 Italy bombs Beirut in the first act of war against the Ottoman Empire.
1914 Civil War soldier Joshua Chamberlain dies.
1916 A film version of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea opens in New York.
1921 Herbert Hoover becomes Secretary of Commerce.
1928 The New Gallery of New York exhibits works of Archibald Motley, its first show to feature a black artist.
1944 Merrill's Marauders, a specially trained group of American soldiers, begin their ground campaign against Japan into Burma.
1945 U.S. forces liberate prisoners of war in the Los Baños Prison in the Philippines.
1947 Franz von Papen is sentenced to eight years in a labor camp for war crimes.
1959 Khrushchev rejects the Western plan for the Big Four meeting on Germany.
1968 North Vietnamese troops capture the imperial palace in Hue, South Vietnam.
1972 Hanoi negotiators walk out of the peace talks in Paris to protest U.S. air raids on North Vietnam.
1991 General Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of the coalition army, sends in ground forces during the Gulf War.
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
February 24
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 "Monday 24 February
February 24: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1010
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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Thanks to Al
Monday Morning Humor--God and Church
God is sitting in Heaven when a scientist says to Him, "Lord, we don't need you anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing. In other words, we can now do what you did in the 'beginning'."
"Oh, is that so? Tell me..." replies God.
"Well", says the scientist, "we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of you and breathe life into it, thus creating man."
"Well, that's interesting. Show Me. "
So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil.
"Oh no, no, no...." interrupts God,
"Get your own dirt...."
PASTOR: "Praise the Lord!"
CONGREGATION: "Hallelujah!"
PASTOR: "Will everyone please turn on their tablet, PC, iPad, smart phone, and Kindle Bibles to 1 Cor. 13:13. And please switch on your Bluetooth to download the sermon."
P-a-u-s-e......
"Now, Let us pray committing this week into God's hands. Open your Apps, BBM, Twitter and Facebook, and chat with God"
S-i-l-e-n-c-e
"As we take our Sunday tithes and offerings, please have your credit and debit cards ready."
"You can log on to the church Wi-Fi using the password 'Lord909887.' The ushers will circulate mobile card swipe machines among the worshipers:
a.. Those who prefer to make electronic fund transfers are directed to computers and laptops at the rear of the church..
b.Those who prefer to use iPads can open them.
c.. Those who prefer telephone banking, take out your cell phones to transfer your contributions to the church account."
The holy atmosphere of the Church becomes truly electrified as ALL the smart phones, iPads, PCs and laptops beep and flicker!
Final Blessing and Closing Announcements..
a.. This week's ministry cell meetings will be held on the various Facebook group pages where the usual group chatting takes place. Please log in and don't miss out.
b. . Thursday's Bible study will be held live on Skype at 1900hrs GMT. Please don't miss out.
c. You can follow your Pastor on Twitter this weekend for counseling and prayers
God bless you and have nice day
• GOD: Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there on the planet? What happened to the dandelions, violets, milkweeds and other plants I started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But, all I see are these green rectangles.
• ST. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites! They started calling your flowers 'weeds' and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.
• GOD: Grass? But, it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees; only grubs and sod worms. It's sensitive to temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?
• ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.
• GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.
• ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it, sometimes twice a week.
• GOD: They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?
• ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.
• GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?
• ST. FRANCIS: No, Sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.
• GOD: Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And, when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?
• ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Sir.
• GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.
• ST. FRANCIS: You aren't going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it, so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.
• GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn, they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. It's a natural cycle of life.
• ST. FRANCIS: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.
• GOD: No!? What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?
• ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.
• GOD: And where do they get this mulch?
• ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.
• GOD: Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?
• ST. CATHERINE: 'Dumb and Dumber', Lord. It's a story about...
• GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.
A Florida Court Sets Atheist Holy Day (fictional)
In Florida, an atheist created a case against Easter and Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.
The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!"
The lawyer immediately stood and objecting to the ruling saying,
"Your honor, How can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others.
The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays..."
The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counselor, is woefully ignorant."
The lawyer said," Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."
The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fool's Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that, if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned..."
Submitted by Barbara Hunt:
A fifth grade teacher in a Christian school asked her class to look at TV commercials and see if they could use them in 20 ways to communicate ideas about God.
God is like.
• BAYER ASPIRIN He works miracles.
• FORD He's got a better idea..
• COKE He's the real thing.
• HALLMARK CARDS He cares enough to send His very best.
• TIDE He gets the stains out others leave behind.
• GENERAL ELECTRIC He brings good things to life.
• WAL-MART He has everything.
• ALKA-SELTZER Try Him, you'll like Him
• SCOTCH TAPE You can't see Him, but you know He's there.
• DELTA He's ready when you are.
• ALLSTATE You're in good hands with Him.
• VO-5 Hair Spray He holds through all kinds of weather
• DIAL SOAP Aren't you glad you have Him? Don't you wish everybody did?
• The U.S. POST OFFICE Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet nor ice will keep Him from His appointed destination.
• CHEVROLET The heart beat of America
• MAXWELL HOUSE Good to the very last drop
• BOUNTY He is the quicker picker upper. . Can handle the tough jobs. ..And He won't fall apart on you
• The ENERGIZER BUNNY He Keeps Going, and Going, and Going
God must have a sense of humor. After all, He created us.
Have a great week,
Al
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Thanks to Barrett
Skip, I was peripherally involved in the Iwo photo research via a couple of marine-specific writers. (There have been half a dozen Flag Raising books.).
Here's the lowdown on the severely devoted Irish researcher who provided the photographic evidence:
https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0219/1116398-iwo-jima-photo/
| Irish man sets record straight on Iwo Jima photo - RTÉ An Irish man has been reflecting on his place in the history books on the 75th anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima, after his research led to the US military correcting the record regarding one ... |
Ref. The Japs emerging from their subterranian lairs to overwhelm some AAF tents. One of my finest sources was CO of a P-51 squadron who'd come up through ROTC. He slept with a 1911 under his pillow and upon hearing the noise, organized a skirmish line to repel invaders. Harry said: "I fought the Germans for patriotism and the Japs for fun but next time I'm fighting for money."
Break-break
James Bradley, the son of a reputed flag raiser, grew up thinking his father was in the photo. He was not. In Y2K james coauthored a highly successful book, "Flags of Our Fathers" with a Real Writer, a Pulitzer winner, and James Bradley admitted the error years later.
Couple years after that james went solo with the egregiously titled Flyboys, comparing Jap atrocities in the Bonins with Our atrocities—such as bombing Japan into surrender to avoid a horrific invasion. He also thought that the USN had jets on CVs in 1944. Meanwhile james referred to everybody by first names: as absurd as dubbing the B-25 The Billy Bomber...
My eviscerating Hook magazine review still got requests for reprints years later. Text attached. I still got requests for it years later.
Here's the hot washup: "James Bradley will never understand, but here's the LSO debrief: Low start, flat in the middle, climbed to glideslope, drifted left, late line-up, high at the ramp, Bolter."
Barrett
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Thanks to Newell
Family and Friends,
"The Times Of Israel" has just published one of the most incisive condemnations of Hamas' terrorism that I've read recently. It was not written by someone who "rants" for a living. Conversely, this is an intelligent and articulate analysis of the inhumanity fundamental to Radical Islam. Additionally, the stain this barbaric Islamist viewpoint casts on the civilized world.
Dr. Ahmed's opening sentence, "Though I am not Israeli, and I am not Jewish, the anguish of the Bibas family is mine." probably speaks to the hearts and minds of nearly all of us.
Newell
The Muslim world speaks:
Hamas must meet its end
by Dr. Qanta Ahmed
Qanta Ahmed, MD, is a senior fellow at the Independent Women's Forum, a life member, Council on Foreign Relations and an Honorary Fellow at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. She is the author of 'In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom'
Though I am not Israeli, and I am not Jewish, the anguish of the Bibas family is mine. I am devastated by the return of the bodies, the babies' remains separated from those of their mother, which Hamas withheld for a further day. These are the most agonizing events since that October 7th day.
No one spared. Mercy to no being. Neither woman, child, nor infant, not even countless animals, saved from Islamism's barbarism. All, eradicated.
For Palestinians, this is a tragedy of staggering proportions. October 7 stains the Palestinian people with a broad brush, and permanently so. Your terror, your barbarity, [and] your monstrous zeal leave a permanent brand not only on Israel and the Jew, but on each of you. Palestinian acts have stained even pristine Islam. You appeal for the world's mercy, aid, intervention, humanity, yet you gather around the tiny Bibas coffins in a ghoulish display at the handover of the baby hostages inside coffins lined with propaganda. You cheer and gawk and parade, defiling even corpses of babies. Your hatred dehumanizes you and debases all of humanity.
Hamas committed the unforgivable. Yet Hamas was not alone. Countless survivors and eyewitnesses, men, women, and even children have testified to me that Palestinian civilians sanctioned, supported and joyously participated in this atrocity. And because you are Muslim, you stain me.
We have provided billions in aid knowing it flows to Hamas in the schools and hospitals and kindergartens and homes of the Palestinians – and through all of them the tunnels. We have kept captive in the Gaza enclave any Palestinian civilian who might want to flee, save those who pay a princely sum to the Muslim war profiteers selling safe passage through Rafah. We have expertly empowered, lionized, and aggrandized the intolerable.
Look at the harm it has done to mankind, to ourselves the Muslim Ummah, and to those we purport to beseech the world to support. See the harm done to the innocent Palestinian, future unborn generations of Palestinians and to the vanishing mirage of one-day Palestinian statehood alongside Jewish statehood that even the most optimistic now question.
Each act on October 7 is abhorrent to Islam: targeting the civilian, the woman, the elderly, the child, the infant, all are outside the bounds of Islam.
The violence, debasement, and gratuitous mutilation of the Jewish person in life and even after death, the sexual violation of women, the taking of civilians as hostages and their maltreatment in captivity, all are profound violations of all Islamic values and a stain upon all Islam.
Hamas and its civilian participants are punishable for the worst crimes against humanity in Islam, which are also seen as crimes against our Maker. Those Muslims who support them are accomplices.
I am not alone in this sentiment, clerics at the highest level of my faith share exactly my sentiments. In reaction to Hamas parading bodies of the deceased hostages the leaders of Islam made their outrage public.
"What we saw today in Gaza is a disgrace to Islam, an act of blasphemy against Allah, and a sin that does not represent the followers of the Prophet, peace be upon him" declared the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh.
"Hamas has brought shame to Islam on a level never seen before," pronounced the Grand Mufti of UAE Grand Mufti, Ahmed al-Haddad.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have long outlawed the Islamist mothership, the Muslim Brotherhood, as has Egypt. They know it as an imposter purporting to be doctrine when it is instead thinly veiled violent totalitarianism. They know Islamism perpetrates only harm to humanity.
For the Saudi Kingdom, Custodian of the Two holy cities in Islam and Islam's spiritual epicenter, Islamist ideology is explicitly outlawed; no financing of Islamism is permitted; Islamist clerics are banned from preaching; Islamist ideology has been expunged from all textbooks in schools, colleges, mosques and elsewhere. Saudi youth is specifically safeguarded from indoctrination. The Kingdom has banned all violent and nonviolent Muslim Brotherhood ideology.
Yet October 7 was possible only because of the financial, military and strategic support of the Islamist Iranian regime paired with Qatari patronage. Billions were funneled into the Gaza enclave for Al Jazeera to whip up support through propaganda that is force-fed in an endless loop to billions of Muslims, and that amplifies pro-Islamist sympathies far beyond the Muslim world.
The statements of the Saudi and UAE Grand Muftis portend a gathering of apical powers in Islam in condemnation of all who favor Islamism over Islam. The Grand Muftis have tremendous authority, but their public condemnation is only possible with (and indeed signifies) the highest level of support of their monarchies. Condemnation of Hamas by the leaders of Islam will gain momentum. These condemnations explicitly direct the Muslim world away from an Islamism that, until now, continually grows stronger.
In the coming weeks as the Arab world meets the urgent task of a post-war Gaza, there will be increasing coordination not only to envision a government for Gaza without Hamas but to systematically deprive the Islamist machine of its lifeblood: Palestinian victimhood, Islamist antisemitism and cold, hard cash.
While the Jewish nation, the Jewish people and the Bibas family might begin their unbearable grieving, the time for Hamas to meet its Maker has arrived. It will be the Muslim world that ensures this.
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From the archives
Thanks to Barrett. He sends me a lot of these little snippits and I file them in the Barrett folder Here are a couple from the archives. He has written great books about naval aviation and I think I have read most of them but he also is a long range shooter and who could not like that.
Thanks to Barrett
. Skip, ref:
7 Interesting Facts About Animal Patterns
From leopard-print clothing to tabby cats to ladybugs, we're surrounded by beautiful animal patterns. While some provide obvious camouflage for their wearer, others have more mysterious origins. Some are more complicated than they seem, or make more sense in the context of the food chain.
In the mid-late 80s I covered a Soldier of Fortune convention for a newspaper. As you'd expect, there were all manner of wares for sale, mostly of a tactical-practical nature.
But
I mosied past a booth run by two matronly ladies selling leopard-spotted and zebra- and tiger-striped men's briefs, much like the TV Maytag repairman: loneliest person in town. One lady said, "I don't understand it, Gertrude. The bikers really go for this stuff!"
I kept on mosying...
Barrett
And another from Barrett
A CV67 XO related a Fleet Week visitation by The Family, some of whom stayed on board.
After their departure some towels and robes with JFK logos were um missing...
Sidebar: When Caroline Kennedy was floated as ambassador to Japan, somebody (obviously not a Democrat) asked if she spoke the lingo. She did not, and it didn't matter. A GOP wag noted, however, that her father had some familiarity with the Japanese navy...
CV names: at Hook 80-something the editor (crusty old photo chief) and I cornered John Lehman. The chief asked, "SecNav, why can't we name carriers for historic ships instead of Vinson?" (Stennis was being considered, I believe.)
Arms folded, toe tapping. "You don't have to deal with Congress. I do."
"Sir, are you saying that congress will spend $2-3 billion on a ship named Vinson but not Langley or Essex?"
"That's about the size of it."
Since then some of us have suggested reviving Midway or Coral Sea but Beltway Intel holds that it'll never happen because it might offend a Westpac partner. Reminds me that in 09 CNO's Midway Night oration omitted The J Word; next year there was I believe one J Word. It's cited in my CV-6 book. (An exchange officer did note that the RN's Trafalgar Night included at least passing mention of France.)
Barrett sends
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This Day in U S Military History
1944 – Maj. Gen. Frank Merrill's guerrilla force, nicknamed "Merrill's Marauders," begin a campaign in northern Burma. In August 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill agreed to create an American ground unit whose sole purpose would be to engage in a "long-range penetration mission" in Japanese-occupied Burma. This mission would consist of cutting Japanese communications and supply lines and otherwise throwing the enemy's positions into chaos. It was hoped that this commando force could thus prepare the way for Gen. Joseph Stillwell's Chinese American Force to reopen the Burma Road, which was closed in April 1942 by the Japanese invaders, and once again allow supplies and war material into China through this route. Within the military, a type of "Help Wanted" ad was put up with the president's authority, an appeal for applicants to participate in a "dangerous and hazardous mission." About 3,000 soldiers volunteered from stateside units to create what was officially called the 5307th Composite Unit, code named "Galahad." It would go into history as Merrill's Marauders, after Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill, their commander. Brigadier General Merrill trained his men in the art of guerrilla warfare in the jungles of India, for secrecy's sake. The commando force was formed into six combat units–Red, White, Blue, Green, Orange, and Khaki–with 400 men in each (the remaining 600 men or so were part of a rear-echelon headquarters that remained in India to coordinate the air-drops of equipment to the men in the field). The Marauders' mission began with a 1,000-mile walk through dense jungle, without artillery support, into Burma. On February 24, 1944, they began their Burmese campaign, which, when done, consisted of five major and 30 minor engagements with a far more numerous Japanese enemy. They had to carry their supplies on their backs and on pack mules, and were resupplied only with airdrops in the middle of the jungle. Merrill's Marauders succeeded in maneuvering behind Japanese forces to cause the disruptions necessary to throw the enemy into confusion. They were so successful, the Marauders managed even to capture the Myitkyina Airfield in northern Burma. When their mission was completed, all surviving Merrill's Marauders had to be evacuated to hospitals to be treated for everything from exhaustion and various tropical diseases to malnutrition or A.O.E. ("Accumulation of Everything"). They were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation in July 1944, which was re-designated the Presidential Unit Citation in 1966. Every member of the commando force also received the Bronze Star, a very rare distinction for an entire unit. Merrill remained in the Far East and was made an aide to General Stillwell.
1968 – The Tet Offensive ends as U.S. and South Vietnamese troops recapture the ancient capital of Hue from communist forces. Although scattered fighting continued across South Vietnam for another week, the battle for Hue was the last major engagement of the offensive, which saw communist attacks on all of South Vietnam's major cities. In the aftermath of Tet, public opinion in the United States decisively turned against the Vietnam War. As 1968 began–the third year of U.S. ground-troop fighting in Vietnam–U.S. military leadership was still confident that a favorable peace agreement would soon be forced on the North Vietnamese and their allies in South Vietnam, the Viet Cong. Despite growing calls at home for an immediate U.S. withdrawal, President Lyndon Johnson's administration planned to keep the pressure on the communists through increased bombing and other attrition strategies. General William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. operations in Vietnam, claimed to see clearly "the light at the end of the tunnel," and Johnson hoped that soon the shell-shocked communists would stumble out of the jungle to the bargaining table. However, on January 30, 1968, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launched their massive Tet Offensive all across South Vietnam. It was the first day of Tet–Vietnam's lunar new year and most important holiday–and many South Vietnamese soldiers, expecting an unofficial truce, had gone home. The Viet Cong were known for guerrilla tactics and had never launched an offensive on this scale; consequently, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces were caught completely by surprise. In the first day of the offensive, tens of thousands of Viet Cong soldiers, supported by North Vietnamese forces, overran the five largest cities of South Vietnam, scores of smaller cities and towns, and a number of U.S. and South Vietnamese bases. The Viet Cong struck at Saigon–South Vietnam's capital–and even attacked, and for several hours held, the U.S. embassy there. The action was caught by U.S. television news crews, which also recorded the brutal impromptu street execution of a Viet Cong rebel by a South Vietnamese military official. As the U.S. and South Vietnamese fought to regain control of Saigon, the cities of Hue, Dalat, Kontum, and Quangtri fell to the communists. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces recaptured most of these cities within a few days, but Hue was fiercely contested by the communist soldiers occupying it. After 26 days of costly house-to-house fighting, the South Vietnamese flag was raised again above Hue on February 24, and the Tet Offensive came to an end. During the communist occupation of Hue, numerous South Vietnamese government officials and civilians were massacred, and many civilians died in U.S. bombing attacks that preceded the liberation of the city. In many respects, the Tet Offensive was a military disaster for the communists: They suffered 10 times more casualties than their enemy and failed to control any of the areas captured in the opening days of the offensive. They had hoped that the offensive would ignite a popular uprising against South Vietnam's government and the presence of U.S. troops. This did not occur. In addition, the Viet Cong, which had come out into the open for the first time in the war, were all but wiped out. However, because the Tet Offensive crushed U.S. hopes for an imminent end to the conflict, it dealt a fatal blow to the U.S. military mission in Vietnam. In Tet's aftermath, President Johnson came under fire on all sides for his Vietnam policy. General Westmoreland requested 200,000 more troops to overwhelm the communists, and a national uproar ensued after this request was disclosed, forcing Johnson to recall Westmoreland to Washington. On March 31, Johnson announced that the United States would begin de-escalation in Vietnam, halt the bombing of North Vietnam, and seek a peace agreement to end the conflict. In the same speech, he also announced that he would not seek reelection to the presidency, citing what he perceived to be his responsibility in creating the national division over Vietnam.
1991 – After six weeks of intensive bombing against Iraq and its armed forces, U.S.-led coalition forces launch a ground invasion of Kuwait and Iraq. On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, its tiny oil-rich neighbor, and within hours had occupied most strategic positions in the country. One week later, Operation Shield, the American defense of Saudi Arabia, began as U.S. forces massed in the Persian Gulf. Three months later, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq if it failed to withdraw from Kuwait by January 15, 1991. At 4:30 p.m. EST on January 16, 1991, Operation Desert Storm, a massive U.S.-led offensive against Iraq, began as the first fighter aircraft were launched from Saudi Arabia and off U.S. and British aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf. All evening, aircraft from the U.S.-led military coalition pounded targets in and around Baghdad as the world watched the events transpire in television footage transmitted live via satellite from Baghdad and elsewhere. Operation Desert Storm was conducted by an international coalition under the command of U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf and featured forces from 32 nations, including Britain, Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. During the next six weeks, the allied force engaged in a massive air war against Iraq's military and civil infrastructure, encountering little effective resistance from the Iraqi air force. Iraqi ground forces were also helpless during this stage of the war, and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's only significant retaliatory measure was the launching of SCUD missile attacks against Israel and Saudi Arabia. Saddam hoped that the missile attacks would provoke Israel, and thus other Arab nations, to enter the conflict; however, at the request of the United States, Israel remained out of the war. On February 24, a massive coalition ground offensive began, and Iraq's outdated and poorly supplied armed forces were rapidly overwhelmed. By the end of the day, the Iraqi army had effectively folded, 10,000 of its troops were held as prisoners, and a U.S. air base had been established deep inside Iraq. After less than four days, Kuwait was liberated, and a majority of Iraq's armed forces had either been destroyed or had surrendered or retreated to Iraq. On February 28, U.S. President George Bush declared a cease-fire, and Iraq pledged to honor future coalition and U.N. peace terms. One hundred and twenty-five American soldiers were killed in the Persian Gulf War, with another 21 regarded as missing in action.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
COOLEY, RAYMOND H.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Lumboy, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 24 February 1945. Entered service at: Richard City, Tenn. Born: 7 May 1914, Dunlap, Tenn. G.O. No.: 77, 10 September 1945. Citation: He was a platoon guide in an assault on a camouflaged entrenchment defended by machineguns, rifles, and mortars. When his men were pinned down by 2 enemy machineguns, he voluntarily advanced under heavy fire to within 20 yards of 1 of the guns and attacked it with a hand grenade. The enemy, however, threw the grenade back at him before it could explode. Arming a second grenade, he held it for several seconds of the safe period and then hurled it into the enemy position, where it exploded instantaneously, destroying the gun and crew. He then moved toward the remaining gun, throwing grenades into enemy foxholes as he advanced. Inspired by his actions, 1 squad of his platoon joined him. After he had armed another grenade and was preparing to throw it into the second machinegun position, 6 enemy soldiers rushed at him. Knowing he could not dispose of the armed grenade without injuring his comrades, because of the intermingling in close combat of the men of his platoon and the enemy in the melee which ensued, he deliberately covered the grenade with his body and was severely wounded as it exploded. By his heroic actions, S/Sgt. Cooley not only silenced a machinegun and so inspired his fellow soldiers that they pressed the attack and destroyed the remaining enemy emplacements, but also, in complete disregard of his own safety, accepted certain injury and possible loss of life to avoid wounding his comrades.
LEVITOW, JOHN L.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Air Force, 3d Special Operations Squadron. place and date: Long Binh Army post, Republic of Vietnam, 24 February 1969. Entered service at: New Haven, Conn. Born: 1 November 1945, Hartford, Conn. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Levitow (then A1c.), U.S. Air Force, distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while assigned as a loadmaster aboard an AC-47 aircraft flying a night mission in support of Long Binh Army post. Sgt. Levitow's aircraft was struck by a hostile mortar round. The resulting explosion ripped a hole 2 feet in diameter through the wing and fragments made over 3,500 holes in the fuselage. All occupants of the cargo compartment were wounded and helplessly slammed against the floor and fuselage. The explosion tore an activated flare from the grasp of a crewmember who had been launching flares to provide illumination for Army ground troops engaged in combat. Sgt. Levitow, though stunned by the concussion of the blast and suffering from over 40 fragment wounds in the back and legs, staggered to his feet and turned to assist the man nearest to him who had been knocked down and was bleeding heavily. As he was moving his wounded comrade forward and away from the opened cargo compartment door, he saw the smoking flare ahead of him in the aisle. Realizing the danger involved and completely disregarding his own wounds, Sgt. Levitow started toward the burning flare. The aircraft was partially out of control and the flare was rolling wildly from side to side. Sgt. Levitow struggled forward despite the loss of blood from his many wounds and the partial loss of feeling in his right leg. Unable to grasp the rolling flare with his hands, he threw himself bodily upon the burning flare. Hugging the deadly device to his body, he dragged himself back to the rear of the aircraft and hurled the flare through the open cargo door. At that instant the flare separated and ignited in the air, but clear of the aircraft. Sgt. Levitow, by his selfless and heroic actions, saved the aircraft and its entire crew from certain death and destruction. Sgt. Levitow's gallantry, his profound concern for his fellowmen, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
*WILBANKS, HILLIARD A.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Air Force, 21st. Tactical Air Support Squadron, Nha Trang AFB, RVN. Place and date: Near Dalat, Republic of Vietnam, 24 February 1967. Entered service at: Atlanta, Ga. Born: 26 July 1933, Cornelia, Ga. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. As a forward air controller Capt. Wilbanks was pilot of an unarmed, light aircraft flying visual reconnaissance ahead of a South Vietnam Army Ranger Battalion. His intensive search revealed a well-concealed and numerically superior hostile force poised to ambush the advancing rangers. The Viet Cong, realizing that Capt. Wilbanks' discovery had compromised their position and ability to launch a surprise attack, immediately fired on the small aircraft with all available firepower. The enemy then began advancing against the exposed forward elements of the ranger force which were pinned down by devastating fire. Capt. Wilbanks recognized that close support aircraft could not arrive in time to enable the rangers to withstand the advancing enemy, onslaught. With full knowledge of the limitations of his unarmed, unarmored, light reconnaissance aircraft, and the great danger imposed by the enemy's vast firepower, he unhesitatingly assumed a covering, close support role. Flying through a hail of withering fire at treetop level, Capt. Wilbanks passed directly over the advancing enemy and inflicted many casualties by firing his rifle out of the side window of his aircraft. Despite increasingly intense antiaircraft fire, Capt. Wilbanks continued to completely disregard his own safety and made repeated low passes over the enemy to divert their fire away from the rangers. His daring tactics successfully interrupted the enemy advance, allowing the rangers to withdraw to safety from their perilous position. During his final courageous attack to protect the withdrawing forces, Capt. Wilbanks was mortally wounded and his bullet-riddled aircraft crashed between the opposing forces. Capt. Wilbanks' magnificent action saved numerous friendly personnel from certain injury or death. His unparalleled concern for his fellow man and his extraordinary heroism were in the highest traditions of the military service, and have reflected great credit upon himself and the U.S. Air Force.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for February 24, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
24 February
1908: The US awarded its first airship contract to Capt Thomas S. Baldwin. (5)
1914: Due to a large number of accidents and deaths, an Army board at the Signal Corps Aviation School, San Diego, condemned all pusher airplanes. This recommendation basically condemned all Wright aircraft, all pushers. (5) (21)
1915: Tests on the Macy automatic pilot began at San Diego with Raymond V. Morris, a Curtiss test pilot, at the controls. (24)
1949: Republic unveiled its XF-91 jet rocket interceptor at its Farmingdale factory, Long Island. (24) A two-stage rocket, a WAC (Without Altitude Control) Corporal mounted on a V-2 first stage, attained a 250-mile altitude and 5,000 MPH at White Sands Proving Ground. (24)
1954: President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a National Security Council recommendation to build the DEW Line. (20)
1955: Convair's R3Y-1 Tradewind flew cross-country from San Diego to Patuxent River in 6 hours, averaging 403 MPH. This feat made the 80-ton aircraft the world's fastest water-based air transport. (24)
1958: General Curtis E. LeMay, VCSAF, said the Air Force wanted to establish a single tanker force to support all combat operations requiring air refueling. (18)
1960: A Titan I, launched from Cape Canaveral, flew 5,000 miles down the Atlantic missile range on its first full-range flight test. Its reentry vehicle landed in the target area, making the event highly successful. (6) (24)
1961: Cape Canaveral launched the first Atlas E. It flew over 7,000 miles down the Atlantic Missile Range, using an all-inertial guidance system. (6)
PROJECT ASSET
1965: The 1,175-pound reentry glider, last in a series of six, launched from Cape Kennedy, Fla., by a Thor-Delta booster into a 13,300-mile suborbital flight. ASSET, or Aerothermodynamic Elastic Structural Systems Environmental Tests was an experimental US space project involving the testing of an uncrewed sub-scale reentry vehicle.
Begun in 1960, ASSET was originally designed to verify the superalloy heat shield of the X-20 Dyna-Soar (artist's conception below) prior to full-scale crewed flights. The vehicle's biconic shape and low delta wing were intended to represent Dyna-Soar's forward nose section, where the aerodynamic heating would be the most intense; more than an estimated 4000 °F at the nose cap. Following the X-20 program's cancellation in December 1963, completed ASSET vehicles were used in reentry heating and structural investigations with hopes that data gathered would be useful for the development of future space vehicles, such as the Space Shuttle.
1966: At Vandenberg AFB, two 341 SMW combat crews fired two Minuteman I (Model A) missiles simultaneously for the first time to examine multiple-firing techniques. This also marked the first salvo launch down the Western Test Range. (1) (6)
1967: MEDAL OF HONOR. In an unarmed and unarmored O-1 Bird Dog aircraft flying near Di Linh in South Vietnam, Capt Hilliard A. Wilbanks attacked a large body of Vietcong that had attacked a much smaller South Vietnamese ranger force. He used smoke rockets and rifle fire to draw enemy fire and interrupt its advance. He sacrificed his life to protect the withdrawing rangers and received a Medal of Honor for his bravery. (21)
1968: Lockheed rolled out the C-5A Galaxy at its plant in Marietta. (3)
1969: MEDAL OF HONOR. While dropping flares near Saigon, A1C John L. Levitow, a loadmaster, saved the lives of eight crewmembers and their AC-47 aircraft when it sustained a hit from an 82-mm mortar shell. Bleeding from over 40 shrapnel wounds, Levitow dragged another crewmember away from the open cargo door and, without regard for his life, threw himself on a live flare, dragged it to the cargo door, and pushed it out just as it ignited. Levitow then lapsed into unconsciousness. He was the first Air Force enlisted man to receive the Medal of Honor since World War II. (18)
1979: An Atlas booster successfully launched Space Test Program Flight P78-1 from Vandenberg AFB. As its primary payload, the spacecraft carried a gamma spectrometer sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). (5)
1982: NATO's new airborne early warning force at Geilenkirchen AB, Germany, received the first of 18 authorized E-3As. (4) The USAF selected the F-15E over the F-16E for its new dual-role fighter. The USAF planned to buy 393 aircraft with deliveries scheduled to begin in 1988. (30)
1984: Gen Charles A. Gabriel announced the selection of the F-15E as the next dual-role combat fighter. The USAF, however, decided to continue testing on the General Dynamics F-16XL. (3) MAC flew two C-141 missions from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Cherry Point, N.C., to support the withdrawal of US Marines from Lebanon. (16) (26)
1991: Operation DESERT STORM. The ground campaign opened against Iraq. US-backed coalition air forces flew 3,000 sorties in support. Previously, C-130s airlifted Army XVIII Airborne Corps elements from eastern Saudi Arabia to Rafha on the Iraqi border. Flying 300+ sorties a day at 10-minute intervals, the C-130s delivered 13,843 troops and 9,396 tons of cargo. General Norman H. Schwartzkopf's "Hail Mary" maneuver allowed coalition forces to surround Iraq's Republican Guard. In 100 hours, continuous air attacks then allowed the coalition forces to overwhelm the Iraqi ground forces. (16) (21)
1998: President William J. Clinton signed an executive order to call-up of 500 Guardsmen and Reservists for up to 270 days to support military operations in Southwest Asia. (32)
1999: The Orbital Sciences Corporation's X-34 technology-testbed demonstrator airframe arrived at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB for vibration and flight certification tests. It was an unmanned rocket powered vehicle designed to be launched from a modified jetliner, reach orbit, and return to a conventional runway. (3)
2001: Lt Col Stayce D. Harris became the first black female to command a USAF flying squadron, the 729 AS at March AFB. (21)
2005: The AFFTC completed software upgrade testing of the B-1B Lancer to integrate the GBU-38 (500 pound JDAM) munition. (3)
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