TheList 7193

The List 7193

Good Saturday morning May 31., Clearing up and 77 all ready this morning and climbing to 85 today..

Well May is headed toward June today and The battle of Midway and the D-Day landings will take up a lot of the Lists over the next couple of weeks. Each in its own way turned the tide of battle for those two parts of WWII. Have a great weekend.

 

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Make it a GREAT Day

 

This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)

Go here to see the director's corner for all 91  H-Grams . .

Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/.

On This Day in Naval and Marine Corps History May 31

 

1900    Sailors and Marines from USS Newark (C 1) and USS Oregon (BB 3) arrive at Peking (now known as Beijing), China, to protect U.S. and foreign diplomatic legations during the Boxer Rebellion.

 

1918    USS President Lincoln is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine, (U 90). Twenty-six lives are lost.

 

1919    Curtiss flying boat NC 4 lands at Plymouth, England, concluding the first transatlantic flight.

 

1944    USS England (DE 635), assisted by six destroyers and destroyer escorts, sinks sixth Japanese submarine in less than two weeks.

 

1944    USS Barb (SS 220) and USS Herring (SS 233) attack Japanese shipping in the Sea of Okhotsk about 150 miles west of Matsuwa Island, Kuril Islands, sinking several ships.

 

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Today in World History: May 31

 

1433 Sigismund is crowned emperor of Rome.

1678 The Godiva procession, commemorating Lady Godiva's legendary ride while naked, becomes part of the Coventry Fair.

1862 At the Battle of Fair Oaks, Union General George B. McClellan defeats Confederates outside of Richmond.

1879 New York's Madison Square Garden opens its doors for the first time.

1889 Johnstown, Pennsylvania is destroyed by a massive flood.

1900 U.S. troops arrive in Peking to help put down the Boxer Rebellion.

1902 The Boer War ends with the Treaty of Vereeniging.

1909 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) holds its first conference.

1913 The 17th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for direct election of senators, is ratified.

1915 A German zeppelin makes an air raid on London.

1916 British and German fleets fight in the Battle of Jutland.

1928 The first flight over the Pacific takes off from Oakland.

1941 An armistice is arranged between the British and the Iraqis.

1955 The Supreme Court orders that states must end racial segregation "with all deliberate speed."

1962 Adolf Eichmann, the former SS commander, is hanged near Tel Aviv, Israel.

1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono record "Give Peace a Chance."

1974 Israel and Syria sign an agreement on the Golan Heights.

1979 Zimbabwe proclaims its independence.

1988 President Ronald Reagan arrives in Moscow, the first American president to do so in 14 years.

 

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Rollingthunderremembered.com .

May 30

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).

.

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

For Saturday 31 May. 

May 31:  https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1793

To All,

Noel one of our readers sent me additional information on the circumstances of his shoot down and I sent them on to Micro. Here is his reply. For all of you if you have more information on any of these please send them in so that they can be part of history. Not Bar talk or fifth hand stories.

 

Thanks very much. I've added his input (with minor editing) to the loss event at:  :  https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2672 He noted that he didn't see his loss for 17 December; however, as you know, I pick one loss for each date, regardless of year, so the history bounces around a bit from day to day on The List. I try not to repeat losses, if there were multiples on the same day, so that the breadth of loss events can be appreciated by those who read them. There were 14 losses on 17 December spanning from 1965 to 1971.

 

I've cc'd Noel on this note. Please take a look and let me know if anything needs changing. He can reach me directly at this address or  webmaster@vietnamairlosses.com.

 

BTW, I participated in Lam Son 719 and got to bomb NVN tanks (!), so, yes, that area was full of bad guys. Some of our guys (Army?) got trapped on top of one of the hills, with NVN regulars storming the top from all directions. We bombed around the perimeter (along with a bunch of other guys) to hold them off until the good guys could be picked up. Micro

 

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I knew a set of twins who were both Air Force pilots One flew Cc-130 ( the black ones that flew t night directing strikes over Vietnam) and the other F-4s. They were really identical and the rumors were that they shared everything including their little books of girlfriends. One told me once that it was true and they had never been caught…yet.

Thanks to Interesting Facts

5 Fascinating Facts About Twins

Twins are something of a natural phenomenon. While scientists understand the egg-splitting process that creates twins, researchers aren't so sure why it happens. That fascination has been with humans for thousands of years — if you need proof, just look to the night sky, where the constellation Gemini (Latin for "twins") shows how our interest in these duos has become part of both the astronomical and astrological world. Regardless of your own twin status or horoscope sign, you can celebrate these dynamic duos with the five facts about twins below.

1 of 5

The World Currently Has the Most Twins It's Ever Had

Many humans know the joy (and occasional annoyance) of having siblings. But some of us have a particularly unique relationship thanks to being half of a twin set. Being born a twin is relatively rare; in the United States, just 3.2% of new deliveries are twin births. But while that number may seem low, the world is actually experiencing the largest number of twins in known human history, largely influenced by advances in assisted reproductive technology. Researchers believe the number of twins born each year has increased over the last five decades, particularly when it comes to fraternal twins. A 2021 survey of 165 countries — about 99% of the world's population — found that 1 in 42 babies born today is a twin, a statistic that equates to 12 twin births for every 1,000 pregnancies. That number is up from the 1980s, when just nine sets of twins were born for every 1,000 pregnancies. And it adds up — scientists believe some 1.6 million twins are born each year.

2 of 5

Identical Twins Have Different Fingerprints

Only 1 in 3 sets of twins are identical; the remaining two-thirds are considered fraternal, essentially siblings born at the same time who may or may not look alike. But even if identical twins seemingly appear as carbon copies, they do have some differences — such as their fingerprints. The patterns on our fingertips develop in utero, and how they look for the rest of our lives is heavily affected by our environment before birth. Blood pressure, umbilical cord length, and how fast a fetus grows all impact the final print design. Because identical twins share the same DNA, it's likely their prints will be similar, though they'll never be duplicates. In the history of fingerprint studies, no two people have ever had matching marks, including twins.

3 of 5

Ohio Hosts an Annual Twin Festival

The city of Twinsburg lives up to its name each summer, beckoning thousands of twins to northwestern Ohio to celebrate their distinctive sibling relationships. Since 1976, the Twins Days Festival has been the world's largest gathering place for twins. Event organizers believe more than 2,145 twins (and other multiples, like triplets and quadruplets) attended the three-day fest in 2022, participating in events like the twin talent show, parade, and award ceremony. The event has also come to serve another purpose — by gathering so many multiples in one place, scientists have a chance to collect data on twins' genetic and behavioral similarities (and differences), giving researchers more insight into how our DNA and environment may play roles in our health and well-being.

4 of 5

Where You're Born Increases Your Odds of Being a Twin

While the global number of twins is higher than ever before, there's one part of the globe that holds the record for having the highest concentration of twins. Scientists believe the west coast of Africa, which includes countries such as Benin and Nigeria, beat the odds by a landslide on twin births. Studies from the 1970s on have pointed to both countries as the twin capitals, having anywhere from 27 to 40 sets of twins per every 1,000 births. It's unclear to researchers why twins are more abundant in that region of the world, though doctors and citizens point to possible cultural factors, like the regional diet that includes okra leaves and yams (which may have plant compounds that play a role in maternal fertility).

5 of 5

Time Makes Twins Less Alike

Similarities and differences can be an endless topic of conversation for twins, though some research suggests that twins become less alike the older they get — at least, genetically. As they grow older, twins often make contrasting life choices and have different environmental exposures (aka interactions with chemical or biological substances, like cigarette smoke or UV radiation from the sun). This can cause differences in appearance or behavior as they age, or lead one twin to develop a medical condition the other does not have. A 2005 study from the Spanish National Cancer Center analyzed blood samples from twins and found that younger twins had more identical genes than older twins, especially those who lived apart  — meaning that despite being born a duo, all twins eventually blaze their own paths in the world.

 

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Thanks ti Brett

Geopolitical Futures

Keeping the future in focus

https://geopoliticalfutures.com

Daily Memo: In China, Billionaires Return to Favor – on the Party's Terms

Facing U.S. pressure on its tech development, Beijing has turned back to private sector innovation.

By Victoria Herczegh

 

May 30, 2025

Chinese President Xi Jinping has extended an olive branch to the country's wealthiest private entrepreneurs after years of subjecting them to scrutiny and regulatory crackdowns. In a recent symposium, Xi reassured billionaire business leaders that Beijing is committed to supporting private enterprises. Since then, some previously sidelined figures – most notably Jack Ma of Alibaba – have resumed public appearances, speaking at conferences and universities about the importance of China's high-tech modernization drive. Many of these events are now funded by the central government, a sharp contrast to recent years when top businesspeople were quietly warned to avoid the spotlight, or to publicly endorse the government's "common prosperity" campaign if they did appear.

Now, not only are these entrepreneurs encouraged to speak publicly, but they are also being afforded new legal protections: China's first law promoting private enterprise has just come into effect. This shift is intended to stimulate both technological innovation and domestic consumption. Still, within China's socialist system, being a billionaire remains fraught with risk. Party priorities override all else, and even with new legal protections, China's billionaires must tread carefully. Xi's change of stance is driven by urgent economic needs: revitalizing a slowing economy, boosting employment and building resilience against U.S. trade restrictions through technological self-reliance.

Rising Tide to Crackdown

It may seem surprising that a communist country such as China permits the rise of billionaires. Under Mao Zedong, the accumulation of vast wealth was incompatible with the prevailing ideology of class struggle and wealth equality. Deng Xiaoping, however, shifted the paradigm by introducing market reforms to revitalize China's stagnating planned economy. He promoted slogans like "to get rich is glorious" and encouraged individual success as a means to national prosperity. But it wasn't until the 2000s that China began producing U.S.-dollar billionaires in significant numbers. From 2000 to 2010, some 60 individuals reached that threshold. Under Xi, the goal of "common prosperity" resurfaced, emphasizing equitable wealth distribution and addressing the disparity between coastal regions and the poorer interior. Despite this, China's billionaire class ballooned to about 400 by the end of the 2010s. By 2025, the Hurun Global Rich List recorded 823 Chinese billionaires – second only to the United States. (China actually briefly surpassed the U.S. last year.) This rise underscores China's economic dynamism, but also poses a perceived threat to the Chinese Communist Party's control.

Most of these billionaires built their wealth through private enterprises, an anomaly in a nominally communist state. Deng justified their existence by arguing that individual wealth would lift broader society through job creation and innovation. Today, private businesses account for more than 60 percent of gross domestic product, 80 percent of urban employment and more than 70 percent of technological innovation. While full communism – complete wealth equality – remains a distant goal, Xi aims to achieve "socialist modernization" by 2035, which includes narrowing income gaps. The 2020-22 crackdown on the super-rich, particularly in tech and finance, was part of this broader agenda. It was also a response to perceived political risks posed by influential business figures.

Jack Ma's experience illustrates the hazards. In 2020, he publicly criticized China's financial system during a speech in Shanghai. Days later, the IPO for Ma's Ant Group was halted, and Ma disappeared from the public eye. He reemerged in 2022, reportedly teaching in Tokyo. His downfall marked the start of a wider crackdown on high-tech sectors. Officially, this was about fairness and redistribution, but political control was a driving factor. COVID-19 accelerated the trend, highlighting the growing dependence on digital platforms. Another target was Colin Huang of online retailers Pinduoduo and Temu, who resisted aligning publicly with the common prosperity movement and was likely pressured to step down as chairman.

By 2022, the leadership began pivoting from crackdown to "normalization," softening oversight and offering support to private enterprises. This was driven by strategic needs – notably tech self-reliance in the face of U.S. restrictions – and the recognition that private firms are key to economic recovery and youth employment. Xi also acknowledged that wealth redistribution efforts had not meaningfully closed regional or class disparities. While the common prosperity narrative persists, economic growth has reemerged as a top priority.

Growth Over (Almost) Everything

Despite the softer approach, private investment and hiring remained weak into 2024. Business leaders remained cautious, maintaining a low profile. This changed when Xi held a widely publicized summit with top entrepreneurs, including Ma. The event signaled a sincere shift in tone. Facing U.S. pressure to restrict China's tech development, Beijing has turned back to private sector innovation, especially in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other advanced technologies. Compared to state-owned firms, private enterprises are more efficient and responsive to market dynamics. Recognizing this, Xi began to ease regulations and reengage with business leaders.

The most concrete sign of this shift is the new private enterprise law, effective as of May 20. It pledges to address systemic imbalances, promising equal treatment for private and state-owned firms, better market access and improved credit availability. It also targets "profit-driven enforcement" by local officials, who would illegally seize assets to fill gaps in the local budget. The central government plans to curb such practices through oversight teams and disciplinary measures. It will also increase fiscal transfers to struggling regions and reform tax distribution to reduce pressure on local governments. Although these steps have been promised before, this law offers detailed legal guarantees for the first time. The law also mandates that state entities treat private firms as equal legal entities, protecting them from arbitrary penalties and forced closures. Still, resistance from local governments burdened by debt is likely, setting up potential conflicts between central and regional authorities.

These developments suggest that the Chinese government now sees private enterprise as vital for economic recovery and innovation. The new law may also signal to foreign investors that China is open for business under more predictable conditions. Premier Li Qiang has repeatedly said China welcomes foreign firms and aims to offer attractive investment terms.

However, China has not fully returned to Deng's ethos of celebrating wealth. The Chinese Communist Party wants to harness private-sector dynamism without relinquishing control. Billionaires now enjoy more public visibility, but their actions remain closely monitored. They are expected to support government initiatives and avoid flaunting their wealth. Those who cross the line may be ousted or see their firms restructured. Still, with Xi betting on the private sector, a sweeping new crackdown is unlikely. Entrepreneurs in sensitive sectors like tech, finance or media will face tighter scrutiny than those in less political industries. For instance, Zhong Shanshan, chairman of the bottled water company Nongfu Spring, has quietly become China's richest man, with a net worth of $65.9 billion.

Xi's approach echoes Deng's in one key respect: Private wealth is tolerated – even encouraged – so long as it serves national goals like tech self-sufficiency and job creation. But China's billionaires must remember that their wealth and status are contingent on political loyalty. The new protections are real but conditional. In Xi's China, entrepreneurs can thrive – as long as they never challenge the party's authority.

 

 

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Thanks to The American Facts

Wild Wild Weather: 10 Natural Disasters That Changed U.S. History

 

America's vast territories and diverse landscapes make it a hotspot for some of the world's most remarkable weather and natural phenomena. From raging tornadoes to volcanic eruptions, the U.S. is no stranger to extreme natural events. While some of these events have left deep scars on the nation's collective memory, many have also driven significant advancements in prevention and disaster response protocols, helping to mitigate the impact of future occurrences. Here's a look at 10 of the most powerful natural events in American history.

 

 

Tri-State tornado

In 1925, the Tri-State Tornado carved a path of destruction across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. With winds exceeding 300 mph, it remains the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, claiming more than 700 lives and leaving thousands homeless.

 

This record-breaking F5 tornado—classified as such by modern standards—traveled over 200 miles in just three and a half hours, leveling entire towns. Its unprecedented speed and longevity exposed the limitations of early warning systems, prompting significant advancements in tornado research and forecasting.

 

 

The Dust Bowl

The 1930s Dust Bowl was a man-made disaster exacerbated by a severe drought across the Great Plains. Decades of over-plowing and unsustainable farming practices had left the farmland highly vulnerable to erosion.

 

When the drought struck, winds swept loose soil into colossal clouds that darkened cities and devastated remaining crops. These massive dust storms, known as "Black Blizzards," choked the skies and forced thousands of families to abandon their homes. Eventually, the disaster led to significant agricultural reforms under the New Deal.

 

 

Lake Michigan's seiche wave

On the morning of June 26, 1954, a 10-foot-high seiche wave crashed onto the Chicago shoreline, sweeping away eight people and injuring many others. But what exactly is a "seiche wave"?

 

According to researchers, seiche waves are large, sudden standing waves that form in enclosed bodies of water due to extreme atmospheric changes, such as abrupt shifts in air pressure or strong winds. This rare event shocked the Midwest and prompted scientists to study lake oscillations and their connection to storm systems.

 

 

Great Alaska earthquake

In 1964, Alaska was struck by a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2, making it the most powerful ever recorded in North America and the second most powerful worldwide. Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the earthquake triggered massive tsunamis and landslides across the state, along with significant geographic changes—some coastlines sank while others rose dramatically.

 

The destruction it caused led to major updates in seismic safety protocols and infrastructure standards throughout the U.S. This event emphasized the need for better preparedness and stricter building codes, to handle similar future events, especially in earthquake-prone areas.

 

 

Hurricane Katrina

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, claiming more than 1,300 lives and leaving millions homeless, sparking an urgent humanitarian crisis. The storm caused an estimated $125 billion in damages, making it one of the costliest hurricanes in history, tied with Hurricane Harvey in the Atlantic basin.

 

Katrina exposed critical flaws in the region's levee systems and emergency response efforts, prompting widespread criticism and driving essential reforms in disaster preparedness and infrastructure.

 

 

The Peshtigo firestorm

On the same day as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, a catastrophic firestorm near the small town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, scorched approximately 1.2 million acres, making it the deadliest wildfire in recorded history. The uncontrolled blaze claimed over 1,500 lives, though the exact number of fatalities remains uncertain.

 

Since 1883, there has been speculation that the simultaneous outbreaks of major fires across Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, including the Peshtigo and Chicago fires, were not coincidental but caused by burning fragments from Biela's Comet. However, this theory remains unproven.

 

 

Superstorm Sandy

Nicknamed "Superstorm" by the media, Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late October 2012. While it affected 24 states, the most severe damage was concentrated in New Jersey and New York.

 

The storm caused an estimated $70 billion in damages, flooding New York City's subway system and displacing thousands of residents. It also ignited a nationwide debate about the role of man-made climate change in amplifying the intensity of seasonal storms.

 

 

Death Valley heatwave

Death Valley recorded the world's hottest temperature—134°F—in 1913. A testament to America's climatic extremes, the region's unique topography traps heat, effectively turning it into a natural furnace.

 

While the record remains a point of fascination for meteorologists and tourists alike, some recent researchers have challenged the accuracy of the 1913 measurement. Regardless, the region has come close to this temperature in recent years, indicating that a new record-breaking summer may be in the cards.

 

 

The Great Blizzard of 1888

The "White Hurricane" of 1888 buried the Northeast under as much as 55 inches of snow, crippling major cities and resulting in over 400 fatalities. Railroads were shut down, and many residents were confined to their homes for up to a week.

 

As one of the most severe blizzards in American history, the storm compelled New York City to bury power lines and redesign its transportation systems to better withstand future extreme weather events.

 

 

Mount St. Helens eruption

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington, triggering massive landslides and pyroclastic flows, killing 57 people and causing over $1.1 billion in damages. The violent blast also reduced the mountain's height by more than 1,300 feet and sent a plume of ash 80,000 feet into the atmosphere, disrupting air travel for weeks.

 

This volcanic event, the first in the contiguous United States since the much smaller 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California, is considered one of the most disastrous volcanic eruptions in U.S. history. Its aftermath raised awareness of volcanic hazards and underscored the importance of geological research in the country.

 

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This day in History

Not a shining example of our country's Past

Tulsa Race Massacre begins

Beginning on the night of May 31, 1921, thousands of white citizens in Tulsa, Oklahoma descended on the city's predominantly Black Greenwood District, burning homes and businesses to the ground and killing hundreds of people. Long mischaracterized as a race riot, rather than mass murder, the Tulsa Race Massacre stands as one of the worst incidents of racial violence in the nation's history.

 

Greenwood Tulsa became the site of the deadliest race massacre in American history.

 

In the years following World War I, segregation was the law of the land, and the Ku Klux Klan was gaining ground—not only in the Jim Crow South, but across the United States. Amid that charged environment, Tulsa's African American community was nationally recognized for its affluence. The Greenwood District, known as "Black Wall Street," boasted more than 300 Black-owned businesses, including two movie theaters, doctors' offices and pharmacies.

 

On May 30, 1921, a young Black man named Dick Rowland entered an elevator in an office building in downtown Tulsa. At some point, Rowland was alone in the elevator with its white operator, Sarah Page. It's unclear what happened next (one common version is that Rowland stepped on Page's foot) but Page screamed, and Rowland fled the scene. The next day, the police arrested him.

 

Rumors about the incident spread quickly through Tulsa's white community, some members of which undoubtedly resented the prosperity of the Greenwood District. After a story published in the Tulsa Tribune on the afternoon of May 31 claimed that Rowland had attempted to rape Page, an angry white mob gathered in front of the courthouse, demanding that Rowland be handed over.

 

Tulsa Race Riots

Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma was founded and developed by African-Americans starting in 1906 on what had formerly been Indian Territory. It flourished with the opening of clothing shops, theaters and businesses and became known as Black Wall Street. In 1921, Greenwood was the target of attacks by an armed mob in the Tulsa Race Massacre.

 

Tulsa Race Riots

The violence began on May 31, 1921 and left hundreds of black residents dead and more than 1,000 houses and businesses destroyed.

 

Tulsa Race Riots

Racial animosity in Tulsa erupted when 19-year-old Dick Rowland, a black shoe shiner, was accused of attempted sexual assault of a 17-year-old white elevator operator named Sarah Page.

 

Tulsa Race Riots

After clashes between a large group of armed white men and a black armed men over protection of Rowland from lynching, the black men retreated to Greenwood. The white mob then descended on Greenwood and began looting homes, burning down businesses and shooting blacks dead on the spot.

Tulsa Race Riots

Refugee camps for people who had lost their homes were set up on the fair grounds in Tulsa following the violence.

 

Library of Congress, American National Red Cross Photograph Collection

 

Seeking to prevent a lynching, a group of some 75 Black men arrived on the scene that night, some of them World War I veterans who were carrying weapons. After a white man tried to disarm a Black veteran and the gun went off, chaos broke out.

 

Over the next 24 hours, thousands of white rioters poured into the Greenwood District, shooting unarmed Black citizens in the streets and burning an area of some 35 city blocks, including more than 1,200 Black-owned houses, numerous businesses, a school, a hospital and a dozen churches. Historians believe as many as 300 people were killed in the rampage, though official counts at the time were much lower.

 

By the time Governor James Robertson declared martial law, and National Guard troops arrived in Tulsa by noon on June 1, the Greenwood District lay in ruins. Survivors of the massacre worked to rebuild the neighborhood, but segregation remained in force in Tulsa (and the nation) and racial tensions only grew, even as the massacre and its lingering scars were left largely unacknowledged by the white community for decades to come.

 

In 1997, the Oklahoma state legislature created the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 (later renamed the Tulsa Race Massacre Commission), which studied the massacre and recommended that reparations be paid to the remaining Black survivors. City officials continue to investigate the events of May 31-June 1, 1921, and to search for unmarked graves used to bury the massacre's many victims.

 

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Thanks to History Facts

 

George Washington spent an entire campaign budget on booze.

 

Before he was the first President of the United States, George Washington was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1758 until 1775. He actually lost his first election, however, and "attributed his defeat to his failure to provide enough alcohol for the voters," according author Daniel Okrent. At the time, it was common for candidates to woo voters by plying them with food and liquor. Washington avoided the same mistake during his second run, spending nearly the entire campaign budget on 28 gallons of rum, 50 gallons of rum punch, 34 gallons of wine, 46 gallons of beer, and two gallons of cider royal served to 391 voters — nearly a half-gallon per voter. (He also spent 3 pounds on dinner for friends, which very likely also included booze.) His campaign even rolled barrels of liquor to polling places on Election Day, a custom in Virginia at the time. The practice of winning over voters with booze was widespread despite being technically illegal, and was known as "swilling the planters with bumbo."

 

Washington didn't need to woo anyone in order to become President; quite the opposite, in fact, as he did no campaigning and had to be convinced to even accept the role, despite being unanimously elected. He also planned to retire after his first term but was persuaded to remain in office, running unopposed in the 1792 election and once again winning unanimously. Politicians today could only dream of such popularity.

By the Numbers

Number of biological children George Washington had

0

Total beer sales in the U.S. in 2022

$115 billion

 

Books in George Washington's home library

1,200

 

Funds spent on the 2022 midterm elections

$8.9 billion

 

DID YOU KNOW?

George Washington's teeth weren't made of wood.

You probably already knew that Washington had dentures, but you might not know what partially necessitated them in the first place: walnut shells. The founding father badly damaged his original set of chompers by using them to crack walnut shells, and he was only 24 years old the first time he had a tooth pulled. He suffered from various dental maladies for the rest of his life, and rarely smiled because he was self-conscious about his teeth — but not because they were made of wood, which they weren't. Washington's dentures were mostly made from human teeth, including those of his enslaved workers, as well as ivory, cow teeth, and various alloys made of lead, tin, copper, and silver. By the time he was inaugurated at the age of 57, he was down to his last natural tooth.

 

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This Day in U S Military History…….May 31

 

1944 – US forces reduce their perimeter near Arare. All the American beachheads on the north coast experience significant Japanese attacks. Meanwhile, to the east, Australian forces capture Bunabum.

 

1945 – On Okinawa, the US 6th Marine Division (part of US 3rd Amphibious Corps) encounters Japanese rearguards near Hill 46. Japanese forces pull out of Shuri.

Remember that this battle for Okinawa started on 1 April and still has a couple of weeks to go..skip

 

1945 – On Negros, organized Japanese resistance ends. On Luzon, a regiment of the US 37th Division begins moving northward from Santa Fe through the Cagayan valley.

 

1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.

 

2001 – Veteran FBI agent Robert Hanssen pleaded innocent to charges of spying for Moscow. He later changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.

 

2012 – SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule successfully returns to Earth following its demo mission to the International Space Station, landing intact in the Pacific Ocean. It is later recovered and shipped back to the United States.

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

 

SHAFTER, WILLIAM R.

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, Company I, 7th Michigan Infantry. Place and date: At Fair Oaks, Va., 31 May 1862. Entered service at: Galesburg, Mich. Birth: Kalamazoo, Mich. Date of issue: 12 June 1895. Citation: Lt. Shafter was engaged in bridge construction and not being needed there returned with his men to engage the enemy participating in a charge across an open field that resulted in casualties to 18 of the 22 men. At the close of the battle his horse was shot from under him and he was severely flesh wounded. He remained on the field that day and stayed to fight the next day only by concealing his wounds. In order not to be sent home with the wounded he kept his wounds concealed for another 3 days until other wounded had left the area.

 

CRAFT, CLARENCE B.

Rank and organization: Private, First Class, U.S. Army, Company G, 382d Infantry, 96th Infantry Division. Place and date: Hen Hill, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 31 May 1945. Entered service at: Santa Ana, Calif. Birth: San Bernardino, Calif. G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945. Citation: He was a rifleman when his platoon spearheaded an attack on Hen Hill, the tactical position on which the entire Naha-Shuri-Yonaburu line of Japanese defense on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, was hinged. For 12 days our forces had been stalled, and repeated, heavy assaults by 1 battalion and then another had been thrown back by the enemy with serious casualties. With 5 comrades, Pfc. Craft was dispatched in advance of Company G to feel out the enemy resistance. The group had proceeded only a short distance up the slope when rifle and machinegun fire, coupled with a terrific barrage of grenades, wounded 3 and pinned down the others. Against odds that appeared suicidal, Pfc. Craft launched a remarkable 1-man attack. He stood up in full view of the enemy and began shooting with deadly marksmanship wherever he saw a hostile movement. He steadily advanced up the hill, killing Japanese soldiers with rapid fire, driving others to cover in their strongly disposed trenches, unhesitatingly facing alone the strength that had previously beaten back attacks in battalion strength. He reached the crest of the hill, where he stood silhouetted against the sky while quickly throwing grenades at extremely short range into the enemy positions. His extraordinary assault lifted the pressure from his company for the moment, allowing members of his platoon to comply with his motions to advance and pass him more grenades. With a chain of his comrades supplying him while he stood atop the hill, he furiously hurled a total of 2 cases of grenades into a main trench and other positions on the reverse slope of Hen Hill, meanwhile directing the aim of his fellow soldiers who threw grenades from the slope below him. He left his position, where grenades from both sides were passing over his head and bursting on either slope, to attack the main enemy trench as confusion and panic seized the defenders. Straddling the excavation, he pumped rifle fire into the Japanese at pointblank range, killing many and causing the others to flee down the trench. Pursuing them, he came upon a heavy machinegun which was still creating havoc in the American ranks. With rifle fire and a grenade he wiped out this position. By this time the Japanese were in complete rout and American forces were swarming over the hill. Pfc. Craft continued down the central trench to the mouth of a cave where many of the enemy had taken cover. A satchel charge was brought to him, and he tossed it into the cave. It failed to explode. With great daring, the intrepid fighter retrieved the charge from the cave, relighted the fuse and threw it back, sealing up the Japs in a tomb. In the local action, against tremendously superior forces heavily armed with rifles, machineguns, mortars, and grenades, Pfc. Craft killed at least 25 of the enemy; but his contribution to the campaign on Okinawa was of much more far-reaching consequence for Hen Hill was the key to the entire defense line, which rapidly crumbled after his utterly fearless and heroic attack.

 When I was on Okinawa at Naha in 1968 they were working on the main road to widen it where it went around a small hill. The hill collapsed and opened up a large cave that had been sealed in the battle for Okinawa and never investigated. They had to put guards around it and nobody could go close for a couple of weeks while they pulled out bodies and lots of live ammunition. That is when I really started reading about the battle and came to understand just how bad it was on both sides……Skip

*SMITH, FURMAN L.

Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, 135th Infantry, 34th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Lanuvio, Italy, 31 May 1944. Entered service at: Central, S.C. Birth: Six Miles, S.C. G.O. No.: 6, 24 January 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. In its attack on a strong point, an infantry company was held up by intense enemy fire. The group to which Pvt. Smith belonged was far in the lead when attacked by a force of 80 Germans. The squad leader and 1 other man were seriously wounded and other members of the group withdrew to the company position, but Pvt. Smith refused to leave his wounded comrades. He placed them in the shelter of shell craters and then alone faced a strong enemy counterattack, temporarily checking it by his accurate rifle fire at close range, killing and wounding many of the foe. Against overwhelming odds, he stood his ground until shot down and killed, rifle in hand.

 

HERNANDEZ, RODOLFO P.

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company G, 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. Place and date: Near Wontong-ni, Korea, 31 May 1951. Entered service at: Fowler, Calif. Born: 14 April 1931, Colton, Calif. G.O. No.: 40, 21 April 1962. Citation: Cpl. Hernandez, a member of Company G, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. His platoon, in defensive positions on Hill 420, came under ruthless attack by a numerically superior and fanatical hostile force, accompanied by heavy artillery, mortar, and machine gun fire which inflicted numerous casualties on the platoon. His comrades were forced to withdraw due to lack of ammunition but Cpl. Hernandez, although wounded in an exchange of grenades, continued to deliver deadly fire into the ranks of the onrushing assailants until a ruptured cartridge rendered his rifle inoperative. Immediately leaving his position, Cpl. Hernandez rushed the enemy armed only with rifle and bayonet. Fearlessly engaging the foe, he killed 6 of the enemy before falling unconscious from grenade, bayonet, and bullet wounds but his heroic action momentarily halted the enemy advance and enabled his unit to counterattack and retake the lost ground. The indomitable fighting spirit, outstanding courage, and tenacious devotion to duty clearly demonstrated by Cpl. Hernandez reflect the highest credit upon himself, the infantry, and the U.S. Army.

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for May 31, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

 

31 May

 

1908: The Glenn H. Curtiss Manufacturing Company at Hammondsport announced that it would accept orders for and deliver flying machines in 60 days at $5,000 a plane. (12)

 

1913: Assistant Naval Constructor Jerome C. Hunsaker started a course in aerodynamics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 

1922: Maj Oscar Westover and Lt C. F. Bond won the National Balloon Race by traveling 866.5 miles from the starting point at Milwaukee. Westover later became the Chief of the Army Air Corps.

 

1930: Capt Arthur H. Page (USMC) won the last Curtiss Marine Trophy Race, an annual event for service seaplanes, in an F6C-3 Curtiss fighter with a speed of 164.08 MPH. (24)

 

1944: The experimental VB-7 vertical bomb, with television sighting, launched for the first time. (24)

 

1945: The last of 18,188 B-24 Liberators and Liberator variants delivered to the US AAF. This "workhorse" was produced in larger numbers than any other American aircraft and employed on more operational fronts than any other Allied or enemy bomber in World War II. (4)

 

1951: KOREAN WAR/Operation STRANGLE. FEAF launched an attempt to paralyze enemy transportation between the 39th parallel and the front lines. By late July, FEAF knew the interdiction of North Korean supply and communication lines, while substantial, had failed to isolate North Korean forces. In late December, however, General Weyland announced that the STRANGLE operations had shattered the North Korean rail-transportation net. The bombing effort destroyed or damaged 40,000 trucks and prevented a Red Chinese buildup for future offensive operations. (17)

 

1956: The 4080 SRW at Turner AFB, Ga., received the first RB-57, a D-model (number 53-3973) reconnaissance version of the British-designed B-57 Canberra light bomber. (1)

 

There is a picture taken of this event with the A-3 plugged in to the KC-135 and the F-8 plugged into the A-3 but I could not find it in my archives…….skip

1967: Maj John H. Casteel and his crew from the 902 AREFS at Clinton Sherman AFB, Okla., began a routine KC-135 mission to refuel two F-104s over the Gulf of Tonkin. Before the flight ended, however, the tanker saved six Navy carrier aircraft. The KC-135's original mission was to refuel two F-104 Starfighters, using the drogue adapter that the probe-equipped F-104s required. Casteel's tanker refueled the two F-104s and was then told of an emergency involving two Navy KA-3 "Whale" tanker aircraft, which also used probes.

 

The first Whale hooked up, indicating that it had only three minutes' usable fuel. Its systems had malfunctioned, and it could not use the fuel it had in its refueling tanks. After transferring 2,300 pounds, the KC-135 then refueled the second KA-3 just as it was notified that two Navy F-8 Crusaders were on scene and short of fuel. One of the F-8 fighters had only 300 pounds remaining and immediately hooked up with the second Whale even as it was taking on fuel from the KC-135, initiating history's first trilevel refueling. As this was going on, the first KA-3 shared its slender fuel supply with the second Crusader. It then moved into position to refuel again from the KC-135. So far Casteel and his crew had had a pretty productive day, refueling the F-104s, and saving two KA-3s and two F-8s. During the operation, Casteel refueled an A-3 tanker while it refueled an F-8, an event that later earned the crew the Mackay Trophy.

 

 (1) The Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) achieved its initial operating capability to give SAC the ability to launch ICBMs from airborne command posts. (6) The USAF completed its phase out of Atlas E, Atlas F, and Titan I missiles. (16)

 

1978: Operation ZAIRE II. On 31 May through 16 June, another 61 C-141 and 11 C-5 missions moved a Pan-African peacekeeping force to Zaire and took the French and Belgian forces, with 1,619 tons of cargo and 1,225 passengers back to Europe. (2) (16) (18)

 

1991: Complying with the 1987 INF Treaty, the USAF inactivated the 501 TMW at RAF Greenham Common, UK. The wing was the first GLCM wing to activate in Europe, the first to become operational, and the last to inactivate. (26)

 

1996: The USAF awarded C-17 multi-year contracts to McDonnell Douglas and Pratt and Whitney for 80 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and engines over seven years. The contracts, valued at $16.2 billion, were the longest and the largest multi-year contracts ever entered into by the government to date. That acquisition gave the USAF 120 C-17s and enabled the retirement of C-141s from the USAF inventory. (21)

 

2001: An AFFTC aircrew from Edwards AFB launched the first live JASSM from a B-52H over the White Sands Missile Range. The weapon destroyed a concrete bunker from a range of 195 miles. (3)

 

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