The List 7194
Good Sunday morning June 1., Overcast and cloudy again this morning and climbing to 82 today. I hope that you all have a great day. The weather is going to cool down a bit but provide a lot more clear skies over the next 5 days or more.. In WWII there are many pieces of some of the largest and most pivotal battles of the war moving into position and Okinawa which started on1 April still has a couple of weeks to go. My future father In Law was sent ashore to do spotting and ended up presumed dead by the side of a road. Fortunately the bury crew found him and got him to the hospital ship off the coast in time to save his life.
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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/.
June 1
1813 HMS Shannon, commanded by Capt. Philip Broke, captures USS Chesapeake, commanded by Capt. James Lawrence off the coast of Boston, Mass. During the battle, Capt. Lawrence is mortally wounded, but as he is carried below deck, he orders the iconic phrase: "Tell the men to fire faster! Don't give up the ship!"
1871 Two ships under the squadron command of Commodore John Rodgers, on USS Colorado, are attacked from Korean forts and batteries. The squadron is carrying Frederick Low, U.S. foreign minister to China, who was sent to negotiate trade with Korea. A Marine Corps expedition destroys the forts and inflicts heavy casualties on the Koreans on June 10-11.
1939 Capt. Hollis M. Cooley, director of the Naval Research Laboratory, proposes research in atomic energy for future use in nuclear powered submarine.
1943 USS Trigger (SS 237) sinks Japanese merchant collier Noborikawa Maru off Kominato, southern Honshu.
1944 Blimp Squadron Fourteen (ZP 14) Airships, (K 123) and (K 130), complete the first crossing of the Atlantic by non-rigid, lighter-than-air aircraft. The journey takes 50 hours after leaving Naval Air Station, South Weymouth, Mass., and arriving at Gibraltar.
1991 USS Rushmore (LSD 47) is commissioned at River Walk in New Orleans, La., the seventh of eight Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships. Its homeport is Naval Base San Diego.
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This Day in World History June 1
0193 The Roman emperor, Marcus Didius, is murdered in his palace.
1533 Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's new queen, is crowned.
1774 The British government orders the port of Boston closed.
1789 The first U.S. congressional act on administering oaths becomes law.
1812 American navy captain James Lawrence, mortally wounded in a naval engagement with the British, exhorts to the crew of his vessel, the Chesapeake, "Don't give up the ship!"
1862 General Robert E. Lee assumes command of the Confederate army outside Richmond after General Joe Johnston is injured at Seven Pines.
1864 The Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, begins as Confederate general Robert E. Lee tries to turn Union general Ulysses S. Grant's flank.
1868 James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, dies.
1877 U.S. troops are authorized to pursue bandits into Mexico.
1915 Germany conducts the first zeppelin air raid over England.
1916 The National Defense Act increases the strength of the U.S. National Guard by 450,000 men.
1921 A race riot erupts in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing 85 people.
1939 The Douglas DC-4 makes its first passenger flight from Chicago to New York.
1941 The German Army completes the capture of Crete as the Allied evacuation ends.
1942 America begins sending Lend-Lease materials to the Soviet Union.
1958 Charles de Gaulle becomes premier of France.
1963 Governor George Wallace vows to defy an injunction ordering integration of the University of Alabama.
1978 The U.S. reports finding wiretaps in the American embassy in Moscow.
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Thanks to Cowboy…I was just about to send out the List when this showed up. Could not send without it
: Iowa WWII pilot, 101, recalls close calls
Thanks to Bruce
MARSHALLTOWN — Ralph Alshouse hadn't even seen an airplane until he was in his teens.
That was about 90 years ago. He'd see a lot of planes — from the inside —throughout World War II.
Now 101, he can recall a few times he may not have lived to 21 by the time the war ended in 1945.
But he knew from his dad, who saw trench warfare in World War I, that if he went to war, an airplane was where he wanted to be.
Alshouse, a resident of the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown, was a Navy pilot who delivered or "ferried" planes all over the country from the manufacturer to be loaded on to aircraft carriers, or brought battle-worn craft into repair shops.
He was part of Ferry Squadron VRF-2, based in Columbus, Ohio, but flew to installations nationwide.
Growing up near Oelwein and graduating from high school in Stanley in 1941, he went into the Navy shortly after Pearl Harbor.
The duty was hazardous enough, flying various aircraft which had equally varying and challenging capabilities.
He had 13 emergency landings during the war, out of 146 flights and more than 1600 hours flight time, involving 28 different kinds of naval aircraft, ranging from small Piper Cub medical evacuation ambulance planes, to Marine Corsair and Navy Helldiver fighter-bombers, to multi-engine heavy bombers like the B-24 Liberator or its Navy version, the PB4Y-2 Privateer.
On one nighttime training flight, he dodged an encounter with a tropical storm over the Gulf of Mexico. Two other cadets weren't as fortunate.
"We were flying out of Pensacola Naval Air Base (in Florida), flying (Vought) OS2Us (Kingfisher observation float planes). Each of us had one. It was the final phase of our training before we got our wings. And three of us went out, and I was the only one to make it back.
"We were in the Gulf. We hit a line cloud out there they didn't know about. And I told the other two guys, 'I'm gonna turn (away from the storm); so let's all turn.' They said, 'No, no our orders are to go straight.'"
He radioed out and received clearance to turn; the other cadets didn't pick up the message over the static. He radioed back to them after making the turn but received no answer.
"I thought, 'Well, I better head back to base.' There was no light, darker than hell, and my first thought was, 'Oh s–t, I must be lost.' And then all at once I saw the flicker of the (airfield) beacons. When you're think you're lost out at sea, in the middle of the night, and you see a beacon, boy, that makes you feel better.
"We went out the next morning with everything that flew; I think there was eight to us," looking for the missing pilots, Alshouse said. "And we didn't find a thing."
On another occasion, he was pulling a target behind him for gunnery practice for other planes — only to get shot at himself.
He discovered dents in his own craft after landing. Had the pilots been using a higher caliber ammunition in practice, the outcome might had been far different.
While ferrying a small medical evacuation plane from Florida to a shop near Memphis, Tennessee, for repairs — basically a flying ambulance with space for one patient in the rear of the cockpit — he touched down at the scene of a serious multiple-injury automobile accident and picked up the victim in the worst condition for transport for medical treatment.
He taxied off the pavement as highway patrol officers at the scene cleared the road for him to take off.
Among other narrow escapes, he also made a forced landing in Pittsburgh of a Corsair fighter plane on fire. In another instance, he and comrades rescued another pilot from a downed, burning plane before it exploded.
Alshouse, a 1948 graduate of Iowa State University in dairy science, is retired from work as a farmer, and Farmers Home Administration farm appraiser at different locations around the state. He also served a stint as the mayor of Seymour in Wayne County near Centerville southeast of Des Moines.
He's a former chairman of the Rathbun Area Solid Waste Commission. In 2018, he was recognized by a recycling customer, Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, for helping provide commission land to the college to start a sustainable agriculture program.
He found another more recent calling — as an author. He jotted down memories of his service to his offspring.
A fellow former military pilot he met at a veteran dinner in Seymour, retired U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Mark Hewitt, suggested he write a book.
He had no intention of such thing, but discovered he in fact already had enough material for one, if he combined all his written recollections.
He fused all those reminiscences into a book, entitled "80 Percent Luck, 20 Percent Skill." It was published in 2023 and is available online on Amazon and through Barnes & Noble.
Alshouse saw his first plane as he was working for his dad in the farm field near Oelwein.
"I was cultivating beans one day. It landed in the hay field south of where I was cultivating beans," he said. "Two gentlemen in business suits got out," a car picked them up, "and they left the airplane." They may have been going to a nearby farm on business about a property that had been through foreclosure.
His father came over from an adjacent field. Ralph came up on the plane, a Club Cadet, and peeked inside. "My God, all those instruments and all those controls." he said. "I told Dad it must take a genius to fly one of those.
"That gave me the urge," he said, "after Dad told me about all the guys that was killed in no man's land in World War I. There was so much gunfire the trees fell over and they stacked the bodies up like cordwood and get behind them (for cover) to shoot. That helped me commit to being in the air instead of on the ground."
He saw advertisements in the local paper seeking applicants for flight training. Lacking applicants, the standards were lowered from a four-year college degree, to a two-year degree, to high school.
"That's when I stepped in," he said. He and other enlistees didn't know the difference between the advantages of different branches of service, "we just wanted to fly."
He took testing and training in Decorah, Minneapolis, and pre-flight training at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where he became a champion boxer in his class.
"I never had a pair of boxing gloves on before, but I won the championship," though he quipped, "My nose always got in the way." He was bloodied a few times.
"We had about a 25% washout rate at Iowa City," he said. He received flight training at the naval air installation at Wold Chamberlain Airport in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and then went to Pensacola, Florida, for training in catapult-launched scout planes like the kind used on various naval ships at that time.
"I got shot off a catapult three times in flight training," he said. "If you think you know what happiness is, that's when you're happy, that you're still alive," and flying after a catapult launch.
Ralph still flew some in civilian life after the war. He had an ultralight craft and still has a trophy from a glider competition he won in 1970.
And his flying skills allowed him to avoid another close call — as a farm appraiser.
When a shotgun-wielding farmer ordered Alshouse off the property, he complied — but still flew over the farm and conducted the appraisal by air.
He discovered that on many occasions in peacetime as well as war, it's still safer by air than on the ground.
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
June 1
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).
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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 Sunday June 1
June 1: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=147
Than Hoa was just not a place to go near. The gunners there were very good. We lost a lot of RF-8s there those guys were camera shy.…..skip
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Norway once knighted a penguin.
Before he was a knight, Sir Nils Olav was a king — king penguin, that is. The flightless seabird was made both a mascot and an honorary member of the Norwegian King's Guard after the battalion visited the Edinburgh Zoo in 1972 and Major Nils Egelien had the idea to adopt a penguin. Sir Nils (he's named for both Egelien and former King of Norway Olav V) quickly ascended through his country's military ranks, receiving a promotion each time the King's Guard returned to the zoo around performances for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The 2008 knighthood took place before 130 guardsmen and a crowd of several hundred people, during which King Harald V of Norway read out a citation describing Sir Nils as a penguin "in every way qualified to receive the honor and dignity of knighthood." The penguin knighted in 2008 wasn't the original Nils Olav, however. He was preceded by two others, inheriting their name and title when they went to the great penguin colony in the sky. (Penguins often live about 15 to 20 years, though some king penguins can live more than 40 years in captivity.)
Of course, Sir Nils isn't the first animal with a more impressive resume than most humans. 10 Downing Street in London is home not just to the British prime minister but also to Larry, the Chief Mouser. Back in World War I, a terrier named Sergeant Stubby participated in 17 battles as part of the U.S. 102nd Infantry's 26th Yankee Division. And a number of cats, dogs, and goats have served as small-town mayors.
Penguins can drink salt water.
Penguins were referred to as "_Strange Geese_" when Europeans first saw them in 1520.
Numbers Don't Lie
Norway's ranking on the 2020 World Happiness Report
5
All-time medals won by Norway at the Winter Olympics (the most of any country)
405
Minutes an emperor penguin can spend underwater at a time
27
Recipients of the Order of the Norwegian Lion, a knighthood established in 1904
11
Frozen pizza is a way of life in Norway.
With a population around 5.4 million, Norway eats more than 47 million frozen pizzas every year — nearly half of which are made by Grandiosa. The brand is so popular among Norwegians that 20% of respondents to a 2004 survey said they considered it an unofficial national dish. The 2006 single "Respekt for Grandiosa," made by the company, was the country's No. 1 single for eight consecutive weeks, and the company's 2007 song "Full Pakke" even spawned its own dance a year later. Your move, DiGiorno.
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From the archives
Thanks to Dr. Rich
Top Fighter Pilot Barely Escapes 800 MPH Crash Thanks to Felix ...
I hadn't heard of this story before. Nothing short of miraculous.
Wow what a story of survival……skip
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From the List archives
Thanks to Micro…..This is indeed a very interesting story….skip
Who Would Have Won the Air War? (A Strange and Unexpected Story of Cold War Intrigue) Very Interesting!
It's about 9 min long but you have to watch all of it to get the full impact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0BINjztAT8
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
From Mercury To Leeches: 12 Historical Cures Deadlier Than Disease
Friedrich Nietzsche's famous saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," may be true in many aspects of life, but it certainly does not apply to everything, as our ancestors perilously discovered. Modern medicine required a lot of experimentation to get to where it is, and a lot of things that were once considered beneficial were, in fact, not. Believe it or not, these 12 procedures were once common practice. Thankfully, that is no longer the case.
Rabies ( The shots are awful and I still can't look at a needle….skip)
Rabies-infected people and animals cannot swallow water. This is why rabid dogs drool at the mouth, because they are unable to swallow.
In the ancient world, a "cure" for rabies involved forcibly submerging people in bodies of water to force the liquid intake. Quite often, the consequence, as you might have guessed, was death by drowning.
Bloodletting
In the days when barbers were also designated surgeons, bloodletting was a common cure for multiple conditions. This gruesome technique was performed not just using surgical tools but also by using leeches, which were directly applied on the human body, to suck blood out of the wretched individuals who required treatment.
Madstones
Folk remedies were common in a time when seeking professional medical help was a luxury for most people. Popular in mid-19th-century America, madstones were big hairballs extracted from the guts of goats and deer.
These objects were believed to possess medicinal properties, such as curing rabies and serving as an antidote to various poisons.
Chloroform
Many substances that we now recognize as poisonous were once believed to be beneficial to health. During the 19th century, chloroform was commonly used as an anesthetic in surgeries.
However, later studies revealed that long-term exposure to chloroform could cause liver and kidney damage, respiratory depression, and may even increase the risk of cancer.
Arsenic
Another poisonous substance once thought to be beneficial was arsenic, which was used to treat malaria, syphilis, and other ailments during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
However, it was later discovered that arsenic exposure could lead to poisoning, causing severe health complications and even death.
Mercury
Similar to chloroform and arsenic, mercury was once thought to be beneficial to the human body. However, as scientific understanding advanced, its harmful effects became widely known.
Today, we know that mercury is highly toxic and can cause severe damage to the kidneys and nervous system.
Urine
Drinking urine for medicinal purposes was common in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, where it was believed to have therapeutic benefits and was used as a remedy for various health conditions, including kidney and liver problems.
Trepanning
Trepanning, a common medical practice in ancient civilizations, involved drilling a hole in the skull to relieve pressure or treat a variety of medical ailments such as headaches, seizures, and mental disorders.
However, due to the lack of modern anesthesia and surgical tools, the procedure was extremely dangerous and carried significant risks.
Cupping
Creating a vacuum on the skin using heated glass cups was a popular therapy for various conditions, including pain, inflammation, respiratory problems, and digestive disorders. While not a particularly harmful technique, aside from the markings left on the skin, its benefits have not been scientifically proven.
Mummy powder
In medieval times, it was commonly believed that "mummy powder" possessed healing properties. This substance was made from ground mummies obtained from Egypt and was thought to be particularly effective in treating wounds, headaches, and digestive issues.
Nightshade
Nightshade is a poisonous plant with soothing properties, which was used as a pain reliever as it can induce a state of calm in the user.
However, this plant is also highly toxic and can cause hallucinations, delirium, and even death if consumed in large quantities.
Tobacco
It might be hard to believe today, but back in the 1600s, schoolchildren were encouraged to smoke cigarettes, which were then thought to be disinfectants.
Cigarettes were also believed to be beneficial for both the lungs and the mind. Thankfully, we now know better.
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From the archives…..The sunshine file is in there
Thanks to Brett…..very entertaining
The Restaurant Of Mistaken Orders (and MORE Neal Foard - - this guy is a treasure!)
https://biggeekdad.com/2023/05/the-restaurant-of-mistaken-orders/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouiiHrs7OZk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJE5lWknIPA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaWD0YTb9fo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaWD0YTb9fo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pff9ajAL-nU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhGr6A4lcfc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNiniCQ_8Rc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkF06bRADaQ
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Thanks to History Facts
Around 21 human species have lived on Earth.
Each one of the billions of people living on Earth today belongs to the same species: Homo sapiens. But we weren't always the only humans. The Smithsonian Institute estimates that some 21 different human species have roamed the Earth (though the number varies due to conflicting definitions of what is "human"). Many of those species are in the genus Homo, which has only one surviving species today (that's us). The list of hominids also includes other species considered by most scientists to be early humans, such as the Australopithecus afarensis, a member of the genus Australopithecus.
The first humans in the same genus as Homo sapiens were Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis, and Homo erectus, and evidence suggests they coexisted in East Africa some 1.9 million years ago. This kind of cohabitation was a familiar fixture of human evolution. When Homo sapiens first appeared around 300,000 years ago, our ancestors lived among many other now-extinct human cousins. Modern humans famously fraternized with Neanderthals, Denisovans, and other populations. Homo sapiens also shared the planet with lesser-known species such as Homo floresiensis, Homo naledi, Homo luzonensis, and the straggling survivors of Homo erectus. But because some of these groups lived in remote communities, it's possible that modern humans never even laid eyes on them. Scientists theorize that our ancestors wiped out many of these human species (Neanderthals were the last to fall, beginning to go extinct around 40,000 years ago) by demonstrating superior strategizing and cooperation skills. Our ancestors' social intelligence helped them rise to the top of the food chain, and the population grew exponentially. Today, modern humans stand alone in the genus Homo, but we only have ourselves to blame.
By the Numbers
Size (in inches) of the shortest hominin, Homo floresiensis, which lived on the modern Indonesian island of Flores
39
Years Homo erectus survived on Earth, the longest of any human species
1.5 million
Estimated percentage of Neanderthal DNA found in people of European and Asian descent
2%
DID YOU KNOW?
Homo sapiens have been on Earth for only 0.0067% of its existence.
The lifetime of a planet is long, measured in several billions of years, but many species are lucky if they even make it beyond a couple million. Homo sapiens are a relatively young group, first appearing on the scene some 300,000 years ago, which means we've only been around for 0.0067% of Earth's history. Because humans have such a low genetic diversity compared to other primates, scientists estimate that Homo sapiens likely grew from only 10,000 breeding pairs — but we've been busy ever since. The human population reached the 1 billion mark in 1804 and 8 billion in November 2022.
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From the archives
Thanks to Mud….This was great ….skip
... I think you'll enjoy this. Whoever wrote it could have been my next door neighbor because it totally described my childhood to a 'T.'
Black and White
Black and White
(Under age 45? You won't understand.)
You could hardly see for all the snow,
Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go.
'Good Night, David.
Good Night, Chet.'
My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to get food poisoning.
My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter and I used to eat it raw sometimes, too. Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper in a brown paper bag, not in ice pack coolers, but I can't remember getting e.coli.
Almost all of us would
Have rather gone swimming in the lake instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring), no beach closures then.
The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a pager was the school PA system.
We all took gym, not PE... and risked permanent injury with a pair of high top Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion soles and built in light reflectors. I can't recall any injuries but they must have happened because they tell us how much safer we are now.
Flunking gym was not an option... Even for stupid kids! I guess PE must be much harder than gym.
Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national anthem, and staying in detention after school caught all sorts of negative attention.
We must have had horribly damaged psyches. What an archaic health system we had then. Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything.
I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I was allowed to be proud of myself.
I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, Play Station, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV cable stations.
Oh yeah... And where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got that bee sting? I could have been killed!
We played 'king of the hill' on piles of gravel left on vacant construction sites, and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48-cent bottle of Mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting like iodine did) and then we got our butt spanked.
Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose of a $99 bottle of antibiotics, and then Mom calls the attorney to sue the contractor for leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel where it was such a threat.
We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either; because if we did we got our butt spanked there and then we got our butt spanked again when we got home.
I recall Joey Jones from next door coming over and doing his tricks on the front stoop, just before he fell off.
Little did his Mom know that she could have owned our house.
Instead, she picked him up and swatted him for being such a jerk. It was a neighborhood run a muck.
To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they were from a dysfunctional family.
How could we possibly have known that?
We needed to get into group therapy and anger management classes.
We were obviously so duped by so many societal ills, that we didn't even
notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac!
How did we ever survive?
LOVE TO ALL OF US WHO SHARED THIS ERA; AND TO ALL WHO DIDN'T, SORRY FOR WHAT YOU MISSED. I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING!
Pass this to someone and remember that life's most simple pleasures are very often the best.
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From Decoration Day to Midway
by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
This Week in American Military History:
May 30, 1868: "Decoration Day" – the predecessor to Memorial Day – is first observed by order of U.S. Army Gen. John A. Logan, who had decreed on May
5: "The 30th day of May 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit."
Maj. Gen. (future U.S. pres.) James A. Garfield presides over ceremonies at Arlington Cemetery (the former estate of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee), and approximately 5,000 participants decorate the graves of both Union and Confederate dead — about 20,000 of them — buried on the grounds.
June 1, 1864: The bloody battle of Cold Harbor opens in earnest between Union Army forces under the command of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate forces under Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Grant will launch a series of futile attacks over the next three days. Lee will defend and hold. Union losses will be staggering: 13,000 to the Confederacy's 2,500.
In his memoirs, Grant will express regret for having attacked at Cold Harbor.
June 3, 1942: The great Naval battle of Midway opens between U.S. Naval
and air forces under the command of Adm. Chester W. Nimitz and Japanese
forces under Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, who had hoped to lure the U.S. Pacific
Fleet into a great air-sea battle and destroy it.
Considered a turning point in the Pacific theater of operations, the
Japanese fleet is intercepted near Midway atoll, engaged, and will be
decisively defeated by Nimitz. The Americans will lose one carrier, USS
Yorktown (the third of five U.S. Navy warships named in commemoration of
the famous Battle of Yorktown), but four Japanese carriers will be sent to
the bottom.
According to the U.S. Naval Historical Center: [Midway] represents the
strategic high water mark of Japan's Pacific Ocean war. Prior to this
action, Japan possessed general naval superiority over the United States
and could usually choose where and when to attack. After Midway, the two
opposing fleets were essentially equals, and the United States soon took
the offensive."
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This Day in U S Military History…….June 1
1942 – The aircraft carrier USS Saratoga sails after repairs from torpedo damage. It will be too late to take part in the coming battle at Midway.
1942 – Twenty-five American submarines from various forces assume stations around Midway.
1944 – Forces of the US 5th Army advance toward Rome. The US 2nd and 6th Corps, exploiting the capture of Velletri, attack through the Alban Hills toward Albano and Valmonte. With the breach of the Caesar Line, German Army Group C (Kesselring) orders a withdrawal north of Rome. Rearguards delay the American advance.
1944 – In the evening, the BBC broadcasts the first code message intended as a warning to the French resistance that a invasion is imminent. The Germans appreciate the significance of the message and alert some units in occupied France.
1944 – On Biak Island, American forces resume their offensive and the infantry gain some ground with armored support. On the mainland, Japanese forces continue their attacks around the Aitape beachhead and the American defenders continue to fall back.
1945 – On Okinawa, after the fall of Shuri, General Mushijima orders the Japanese troops to withdraw southward, towards the Oroku peninsula and the hills of Yaeju, Yuza and Mezado in the extreme south of the island. There are reports of discontent among the Japanese troops, something previously unheard of in the Imperial Army. Elements of the US 1st Marine Division cross the Koruba river, south of Naha. The forces of the US 24th Corps pursue the retreating Japanese while elements mop up around Shuri.
1945 – On Luzon, the US 37th Division (US 1st Corps) advances rapidly in the Cagayan valley. Japanese resistance is reduced to rearguard actions. On Mindanao, American forces are engaged north of Davao.
1951 – One flight of F-86s from the 336th FIS escorting B-29s engaged eighteen MiG-15s, destroying two. A flight of B-29s, 343th BS, defended itself against twenty-two MiG-15s in the vicinity of Sonchon. The MiGs destroyed one B-29 and damaged another, while the defenders destroyed two enemy jets. FEAF Special Air Mission C-47s dropped fifteen Koreans into enemy held territory to retrieve parts from a crashed MiG-15. Unfortunately, communist forces captured all fifteen Koreans. Maj. Gen. Frank F. Everest, USAF, assumed command of Fifth Air Force, replacing General Timberlake.
1953 – Air battles raging over "MiG Alley" produced five F-86 Sabre jet aces during this month, more than any other month of the war.
1954 – First test of steam catapult from USS Hancock. (A welcome change from the old hydraulic cats which were a real kick in the a@#. Now they have EMALS which is electromagnetic)
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
GRANT, GABRIEL
Rank and organization: Surgeon, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: At Fair Oaks, Va., 1 June 1862. Entered service at: New York. Born: Newark, N.J. Date of issue: 21 July 1897. Citation: Removed severely wounded officers and soldiers from the field while under a heavy fire from the enemy, exposing himself beyond the call of duty, thus furnishing an example of most distinguished gallantry.
HASKELL, FRANK W.
Rank and organization: Sergeant Major, 3d Maine Infantry. Place and date: At Fair Oaks, Va., 1 June 1862. Entered service at: Waterville, Maine. Born: 1843, Benton, Maine. Date of issue: 8 December 1898. Citation: Assumed command of a portion of the left wing of his regiment, all the company officers present having been killed or disabled, led it gallantly across a stream and contributed most effectively to the success of the action.
HENRY, GUY V.
Rank and organization: Colonel, 40th Massachusetts Infantry. Place and date: At Cold Harbor, Va., 1 June 1864. Entered service at: Reading Pa. Birth: Fort Smith, Indian Ter. Date of issue: 5 December 1893. Citation: Led the assaults of his brigade upon the enemy's works, where he had 2 horses shot under him.
HILL, EDWARD
Rank and organization: Captain, Company K, 1 6th Michigan Infantry. Place and date: At Cold Harbor, Va., 1 June 1864. Entered service at: Detroit, Mich. Birth: Liberty, N.Y. Date of issue: 4 December 1893. Citation: Led the brigade skirmish line in a desperate charge on the enemy's masked batteries to the muzzles of the guns, where he was severely wounded.
HOWARD, OLIVER O.
Rank and organization: Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: At Fair Oaks, Va., 1 June 1862. Entered service at: Maine. Born: 8 November 1830, Leeds, Maine. Date of issue: 29 March 1893. Citation: Led the 61st New York Infantry in a charge in which he was twice severely wounded in the right arm, necessitating amputation.
TOMPKINS, CHARLES H.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 2d U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Fairfax, Va., 1 June 1861. Entered service at: Brooklyn, N.Y. Birth: Fort Monroe, Va. Date of issue: 13 November 1893. Citation: Twice charged through the enemy's lines and, taking a carbine from an enlisted man, shot the enemy's captain.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for June 1, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
1 June
1912: Capt Charles DeForest Chandler made the first night flight at College Park.
1915: The Navy awarded its first contract for a lighter-than-air craft, a nonrigid airship that became the DN-1, to the Connecticut Aircraft Company in New Haven. (24)
1919: Responding to the San Francisco District Forester's request, the first organized and sustained aerial forest fire patrol started at Rockwell Field with Curtiss JN-4D and JN-6H planes. (24)
1934: Army Air Corps airmail operations ended. The official record for the enterprise reflected 57 crashes and 12 fatalities (main reason for ending the program), with 1.5 million miles flown to carry 777,000 pound of mail at a cost of $2.7 million. (21)
1939: The Army Air Corps inaugurated a plan to use civilian flying schools for the primary training of its flying cadets. (24)
1944: Navy airships completed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by nonrigid airships, flying from South Weymouth, Mass., to Argentia, Newfoundland, and the Azores, to Port Lyautey, Morocco. (24)
1951: KOREAN WAR. A flight of F-86s from the 336 FIS, escorting B-29s, engaged 18 MiG-15s, destroying two. A second flight of B-29s from 343 BS defended itself against 22 MiG-15s in the vicinity of Sonchon. The MiGs destroyed one B-29 and damaged another, while the defenders destroyed two enemy jets. FEAF Special Air Mission C-47s dropped 15 Koreans into enemy held territory to retrieve parts from a crashed MiG-15; however, communist forces captured all 15 Koreans. (28) Maj John P. Stapp survived 45 "G's" in a rocket sled powered by a 4,000-pound thrust engine.
1961: At Kincheloe AFB, Mich., the USAF declared the first BOMARC-B pilotless interceptor site operational. (16) (24) The USAF activated the last Titan I squadron at Mt. Home AFB, Idaho. (12)
1962: The USAF launched Oscar II, a 10-pound satellite, piggyback on a Thor-Agena B rocket from Vandenberg AFB. Launched for the American Radio Relay League, Oscar II transmitted radio signals in Morse code for use of amateur radio operators. (16) (24)
1964: Miss Jacqueline Cochran flew the 100-kilometer circular course at Edwards AFB at 1,302 MPH to break Jacqueline Auriol's 4 June 1963 international women's record.
1967: Two 48 ARRS HH-3E helicopters completed the first helicopter crossing of the Atlantic. The 4,270-mile flight followed Lindbergh's route from New York to Paris of 40 years earlier. They completed the flight in 30 hours 46 minutes with nine inflight refuelings from HC-130P tankers to set a FAI record. (2) (9) (16) The Vietnamese Air Force bought its first jets, 20 F-5 Freedom Fighters. (12) For his role in the MOL development program, Alexander H. Flax, Assistant SECAF for Research and Development, became the first civilian to win the General Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy. (16)
1979: Maj Gen Philip J. Conley, Jr., the Commander of the AFFTC at Edwards AFB, accepted the first F-15C (SN78-0468) for the Air Force. (3) To support SAC's air tanker operations, USAFE activated RAF Fairford, UK. The base became fully operational on 12 September when the first two KC-135 Stratotankers arrived. (16) (26)
1990: SAC turned over the first FB-111s to TAC. After modifications, the USAF redesignated the jets as F-111Gs. (20)
1994: Maj Jacqueline Parker arrived at 174th FW at Hancock Field, N.Y., to begin mission qualification training in the F-16. She was the first female F-16 pilot in the ANG. (16)
1999: Operation ALLIED FORCE. Through 2 June, the 108 AREFW (New Jersey ANG) deployed an advanced party and four KC-135s to an undisclosed European location to support NATO operations in Kosovo. (32)
2005: A C-17 aircrew flew the first IRAQI FREEDOM support mission from the new "hub and spoke" location at Incirlik AB. Under the "spoke and hub" concept, contract commercial aircraft and AMC airlifters carried cargo to Incirlik from Charleston AFB, after which C-17s airlifted the cargo to Iraqi locations. This new system made it possible for AMC to deliver more cargo to US forces in Iraq with fewer aircraft. (22)
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