TheList 7211

The List 7211

Good Wednesday morning June 18 .  The day is dawning clear again and it will be 88 today. Only one more martial arts class tomorrow with our pot luck dinner, demonstration for the parents and friends and handing out belts and certificates. Then we start a new quarter on Monday. 

A bit long today…a lot to unpack

Warm regards,

skip

HAGD

 

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 91  H-Grams . .

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

June 18

1812 The United States declares war on Great Britain for impressment of Sailors and interference with commerce.

1814 The sloop of war Wasp, commanded by Johnston Blakely, captures and scuttles the British merchant brig Pallas in the eastern Atlantic.

1875 The side-wheel steamer, USS Saranac, wrecks in Seymour Narrows, off Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

1944 - USS Bullhead (SS 332) sinks Japanese auxiliary sailing vessel (No. 58) Sakura Maru in Sunda Strait, off Merak. Also on this date, USS Dentuda (SS 335) sinks Japanese guardboats Reiko Maru and Heiwa Maru in East China Sea west of Tokara Gunto.

1957 Adm. Arleigh A. Burke, Chief of Naval Operations, approves the ship characteristics of the Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine.

1983 USS Florida (SSGN 728) is commissioned at Electric Boat Division, Groton, Conn. The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, is the first submarine to be named after the 27th state, but the sixth vessel in the Navy.

 

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Today in World History June 18

 

0362 Emperor Julian issues an edict banning Christians from teaching in Syria.

 

1155 German-born Frederick I, Barbarossa, is crowned emperor of Rome.

 

1579 Sir Francis Drake claims San Francisco Bay for England.

 

1667 The Dutch fleet sails up the Thames River and threatens London.

 

1775 The British take Bunker Hill outside of Boston, after a costly battle.

 

1778 British troops evacuate Philadelphia.

 

1799 Napoleon Bonaparte incorporates Italy into his empire.

 

1812 The War of 1812 begins when the United States declares war against Great Britain.

 

1815 At the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte is defeated by an international army under the Duke of Wellington.

 

1848 Austrian General Alfred Windisch-Gratz crushes a Czech uprising in Prague.

 

1854 The Red Turban revolt breaks out in Guangdong, China.

 

1856 The Republican Party opens its first national convention in Philadelphia.

 

1861 President Abraham Lincoln witnesses Dr. Thaddeus Lowe demonstrate the use of a hot-air balloon.

 

1863 On the way to Gettysburg, Union and Confederate forces skirmish at Point of Rocks, Maryland.

 

1863 After repeated acts of insubordination, General Ulysses S. Grant relieves General John McClernand during the Siege of Vicksburg.

 

1864 At Petersburg, Union General Ulysses S. Grant realizes the town can no longer be taken by assault and settles into a siege.

 

1872 George M. Hoover begins selling whiskey in Dodge City, Kansas--a town which had previously been "dry."

 

1873 Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote for president.

 

1876 General George Crook's command is attacked and bested on the Rosebud River by 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne under the leadership of Crazy Horse.

 

1912 The German Zeppelin SZ 111 burns in its hangar in Friedrichshafen.

 

1913 U.S. Marines set sail from San Diego to protect American interests in Mexico.

 

1917 The Russian Duma meets in secret session in Petrograd and votes for an immediate Russian offensive against the German Army.

 

1918 Allied forces on the Western Front begin their largest counterattack yet against the German army.

 

1924 The Fascist militia marches into Rome.

 

1926 Spain threatens to quit the League of Nations if Germany is allowed to join.

 

1928 Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to cross the Atlantic by airplane.

 

1930 The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Bill becomes law, placing the highest tariff on imports to the United States.

 

1931 British authorities in China arrest Indochinese Communist leader Ho Chi Minh.

 

1932 The U.S. Senate defeats the Bonus Bill as 10,000 veterans mass around the Capitol.

 

1936 Mobster Charles 'Lucky' Luciano is found guilty on 62 counts of compulsory prostitution.

 

1940 The Soviet Union occupies Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

 

1942 The U.S. Navy commissions its first black officer, Harvard University medical student Bernard Whitfield Robinson.

 

1942 Yank a weekly magazine for the U.S. armed services, begins publication.

 

1944 French troops land on the island of Elba in the Mediterranean.

 

1944 The U.S. First Army breaks through the German lines on the Cotentin Peninsula and cuts off the German-held port of Cherbourg.

 

1945 Organized Japanese resistance ends on the island of Mindanao.

 

1950 Surgeon Richard Lawler performs the first kidney transplant operation in Chicago.

 

1951 General Vo Nguyen Giap ends his Red River Campaign against the French in Indochina.

 

1953 Soviet tanks fight thousands of Berlin workers rioting against the East German government.

 

1953 South Korean President Syngman Rhee releases Korean non-repatriate POWs against the will of the United Nations.

 

1959 A Federal Court annuls the Arkansas law allowing school closings to prevent integration.

 

1963 The U.S. Supreme Court bans the required reading of the Lord's prayer and Bible in public schools.

 

1965 27 B-52s hit Viet Cong outposts, but lose two planes in South Vietnam. Read more in Micro's post below

 

1966 Samuel Nabrit becomes the first African American to serve on the Atomic Energy Commission.

 

1970 North Vietnamese troops cut the last operating rail line in Cambodia.

 

1972 Five men are arrested for burglarizing Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.

 

1979 President Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the Salt II pact to limit nuclear arms.

 

1983 Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.

 

1994 Millions of Americans watch former football player O.J. Simpson--facing murder charges--drive his Ford Bronco through Los Angeles, followed by police.

 

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 Thanks to Dr.Rich and Captain Billy

Me-163 Komet: Ahead of its Time

Allied air superiority

The Hawker Hurricane was the aircraft that shined during the Battle of Britain, effectively suspending any amphibious invasion. The P-51 Mustang may have been the plane that secured Allied air superiority in 1944, and the Me-262 and Gloster Meteor may have been the first operational jet fighters on the sides of the Axis and Allies. None of those planes, however, were the fastest for that honour goes to the Me-163 Komet

 

Despite a series of accidents and explosions involving the unreliable motor, on October 2, 1941, the Me 163 V1 set a new world speed record of 1,004.5 kph (623.8 mph).

 

Me 163 fuel

 

The Me 163 initially used a fuel mixture of the T and Z-Stoff. T-Stoff consisted of a mix of hydrogen peroxide with oxyquinoline or phosphate. Z-Stoff was an aqueous solution of calcium permanganate. Z-Stoff would later be replaced with C-Stoff, which was a mix of methyl alcohol, hydrazine hydrate, and water. T-Stoff was stored in one main and two smaller auxiliary tanks. The smaller tanks were placed on both sides of the cockpit. The C-Stoff fuel tanks were placed in the Me 163's wings. In order to help circulate the fuel, two centrifugal pumps were placed inside the Me 163.

 

These chemicals were extremely flammable and dangerous to handle and thus required safety procedures to be used properly. Before each flight, the fuel tanks had to be thoroughly washed with water. During refueling, the ground and the aircraft had to be sprayed with large amounts of water. If the safety procedures were not followed, there was a great risk of explosion, which happened on occasion. Due to the volatile nature of the fuel, any harsh landing with fuel still onboard offered a great chance of explosion as well, which led to a number of pilots being lost. Being highly corrosive and deadly to the touch, the maintenance crews and pilots had to wear specially designed protective clothing and gloves.

 

👇🏻https://www.jetsprops.com/prototype/me-163-komet-ahead-of-its-time.html

 

 

https://128158.lightfolio.com/gallery/the-great-texas-airshow-2024

 

Sent from the apex of a Stearman loop😳

 

Thanks to Captain Billy

 

Sent from Rich's iPhone - Please pardon any  iSpell errors!

 

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Thanks to History Facts..

 Winston Churchill had a doctor's note to let him drink alcohol during Prohibition.

 

U.S. HISTORY

 

From the 18th Amendment's ratification on January 16, 1919, until its repeal in 1933, Prohibition dominated American society. Most libation lovers were forced to either give up alcohol or acquire it by illicit means, while other cunning boozehounds conceived of clever workarounds. One such individual was British statesman Winston Churchill, who capitalized on an otherwise unfortunate accident he suffered on December 13, 1931. After being struck by a vehicle while crossing Fifth Avenue in New York City, Churchill experienced great pain, for which his doctor conveniently prescribed alcohol as a treatment — though it was likely Churchill himself who requested this specific "medicine." Otto C. Pickhardt, M.D., wrote, "Churchill necessitates the use of alcoholic spirits especially at meal times," thus permitting the future prime minister to skirt the law during his stateside visits. Pickhardt described the dosage as "naturally indefinite," but no less than "250 cubic centimeters" of hooch.

Churchill's case was far from unusual, as pharmacies often prescribed alcohol as "medicine" during Prohibition due to the lucrative payoffs. It was one of several methods Churchill used to finagle his way around Prohibition; he once visited an American speakeasy, wryly quipping that he only did so as a "Social Investigator." Churchill's drinking wasn't to be impeded upon by laws or religion, as he once imbibed in the presence of Saudi King Ibn Saud. Churchill used an interpreter to explain, "[M]y religion prescribed as an absolute sacred ritual smoking cigars and drinking alcohol before, after, and if need be during, all meals and the intervals between them."

 

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Rollingthunderremembered.com .

June 18

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 Wednesday June 18    What a goat rope this one turned out to be

June 18:  https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=163

 

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Need To Know

 

 

Iran Tone Shift

President Donald Trump called on Iran to unconditionally surrender yesterday, saying the US knows the location of its leader-in-hiding, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but will not target him at this time. The comments came after Trump returned early from the G7 meeting in Canada for a Situation Room meeting. See live updates here.

 

The US has not formally entered Israel's six-day-long war with Iran, though the military has relocated assets to the Middle East. Since Friday, Israel says it has achieved air superiority over Tehran and destroyed one-third of the country's ballistic missile arsenal. Israel also said it killed the country's top military commander—appointed to the role after Israel killed his predecessor.

 

Israel has targeted military and nuclear installations across Iran, including its underground nuclear facility in Natanz. Key elements of Iran's nuclear program are believed to be in its Fordo nuclear facility. A strike on that site—buried 260 feet into a mountain—would require the use of US bunker-buster bombs.

 

 

Panthers Pounce Again

The Florida Panthers secured their second consecutive Stanley Cup last night, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the NHL Final and becoming the third team since 1998 to clinch back-to-back titles.

 

The Panthers' victory in the repeat matchup of last year's final once again dashed the Oilers' hopes of becoming the first Canadian team to win the Cup since 1993. Veteran forward Sam Reinhart led the Panthers with four goals, while forward Matthew Tkachuk scored one goal. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of 29 shots he faced. Panthers forward Sam Bennett, who led all goal-scorers this postseason with 15, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player.

 

The Stanley Cup returns to Florida for the fourth time in six seasons—the Tampa Bay Lightning won in 2020 and 2021. See photos from last night's celebration here.

 

Kraft Goes All Natural

Kraft Heinz said yesterday it will remove all artificial food, drug, and cosmetic dyes from its US products by the end of 2027, becoming the first major food company to commit to the shift since the Food and Drug Administration announced plans to phase out synthetic food colorings.

 

The company, whose brands include Jell-O, Capri Sun, and Kool-Aid, said nearly 90% of its US products by sales volume are already dye-free, and it will stop launching new products containing petroleum-based additives, effective immediately. The move follows pressure from the FDA and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who are urging food makers to voluntarily eliminate synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, citing concerns about potential behavioral effects in children. That includes Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 1, which together make up 90% of all dyes used in the US.

 

Kraft Heinz already uses natural alternatives like beet juice and vegetable extracts in most products sold in Canada and Europe, where some synthetic dyes require warning labels.

 

In partnership with BOXABL

 

Cars Are Built in Minutes, Why Not Houses?

 

How do you aim to disrupt the massive and outdated ~$5T home construction market? Introduce assembly-line automation like BOXABL did.

 

Much like Henry Ford automating car manufacturing, they're bringing assembly-line efficiency and mass production to an artisanal, slow industry. BOXABL homes are built in their Las Vegas factory, folded, shipped on a truck, and then unfolded on site in one hour. And they're not just dreaming big; they're delivering: initial prototype order delivered to SpaceX in 2020, a 156-home project order from the DoD completed in 2021, and active deliveries to developers and consumers.

 

They've already raised $200M+ from 50,000+ investors since 2020, and their current investment opportunity ends June 24! That means this is the final week to invest in BOXABL for $0.80/share and claim your bonus shares.*

 

 

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Thanks to Nice News

In good news for the Pacific Northwest, the wildfires burning in Oregon appear to be near containment. And in good news for animal lovers everywhere, a sweet wildlife story has emerged from the fires. On Saturday, a team of firefighters saw a baby deer come out from the smoke along U.S. Route 30. "It was so tiny, and I was like, 'We've got to do something,'" firefighter Jennifer Colton told The Oregonian. So she and the rest of her crew rinsed the small animal with water and brought it to a forest clearing unaffected by the fires — providing a much-needed morale boost for the team.

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Your Breathing Is as Unique as Your Fingerprints, New Study Finds

 Super Scout/ iStock

 

Inhale, exhale. You do it every day, all day, and although you don't see it, the way you breathe is as unique to you as your fingerprints, according to a new study.

 

"In a way, we're reading the mind through the nose," co-author Noam Sobel told Nature. He explained that because breathing is connected to the brain and no two brains function in the same way, his team hypothesized that breathing patterns are also unique.

 

To test that, researchers monitored the breathing of 97 people over 24 hours via a wearable device that recorded breath duration, the time between breaths, and the amount of air passing through each nostril. Using a machine learning program, the scientists analyzed the breathing patterns and found they were able to identify individuals with 96.8% accuracy, as well as glean other health insights, such as anxiety and depression levels and body mass index.

 

Looking ahead, the team suggests that long-term breath monitoring could aid in the diagnostic process and management of certain conditions. "We intuitively assume that how depressed or anxious you are changes the way you breathe," Sobel said in a statement. "But it might be the other way around. Perhaps the way you breathe makes you anxious or depressed. If that's true, we might be able to change the way you breathe to change those conditions." While we're on the topic of inhales and exhales, why not take 60 seconds to do a quick meditation?

 

 

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Thanks to Brett

When the Riot Bill Comes Due: Democrat Cities Face Federal Funding Freeze

By Noah Stanton

 

Like a long-overdue invoice finally landing on the doorstep, the consequences for months of anti-ICE chaos are about to hit where it hurts most: the wallet. While Democrat mayors have spent weeks grandstanding against federal immigration enforcement, playing to their progressive base with fiery rhetoric about "resistance," a different kind of reckoning has been quietly brewing in Washington.

The riots that erupted across Los Angeles and spread to other major cities weren't just spontaneous outbursts of anger—they were calculated political theater. And let me tell you, watching these mayors orchestrate resistance while their cities burned was something to behold. As ICE operations successfully rounded up violent criminals including child molesters, murderers, and drug dealers, Democrat-controlled cities responded not with gratitude for removing dangerous predators from their streets, but with organized resistance.

Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson called ICE raids "terrorism" and claimed Trump's America looks like "the Confederacy won." California Governor Gavin Newsom continues his defiant posturing, refusing meaningful cooperation with federal authorities.

But here's what these political grandstanders apparently forgot: their cities don't operate in a vacuum. Federal dollars flow through every major infrastructure project, every highway repair, every bridge renovation. And those dollars come with strings attached—strings that are about to be pulled tight.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy just delivered the news that should have every city budget director reaching for the antacids:

From Breitbart:

The USDOT will NOT fund rogue state actors who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. And to cities that stand by while rioters destroy transportation infrastructure — don't expect a red cent from DOT, either. Follow the law, or forfeit the funding.

This isn't an empty threat or political posturing. Duffy has already demonstrated his willingness to use federal funding as leverage, previously warning that states giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants or maintaining DEI policies would lose transportation dollars. The difference now is the scale and urgency—major cities that have become synonymous with anti-ICE resistance are staring down the barrel of massive funding cuts.

Let me get this straight: cities that allowed rioters to destroy their own infrastructure while protecting criminals from deportation now want federal taxpayers to foot the repair bill? Los Angeles, which watched protesters wave Mexican flags while chanting about ICE, expects American citizens from Kansas and Alabama to pay for fixing their self-inflicted damage. It's a level of audacity that would be impressive if it weren't so infuriating.

The contrast between mayors tells the real story here. New York's Eric Adams, despite his Democrat credentials, has instructed the NYPD not to interfere with ICE operations, telling reporters that protesters blocking federal authorities "is not going to happen in the city." Meanwhile, Johnson and Newsom double down on their resistance theater, apparently believing their political posturing is worth more than the billions in federal transportation funding their constituents depend on.

What I find most satisfying about this approach is its elegant simplicity. No dramatic confrontations, no constitutional crises—just the quiet enforcement of a basic principle that conservatives have always understood: if you want the benefits of the system, you have to follow the rules of the system. Actions, as they say, have consequences. And for America's most defiant cities, those consequences are about to become very expensive indeed

 

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Thanks to Brett

It looks like a lot of chess pieces are moving around….skip

Trouble…?

https://news.yahoo.com/news/china-sends-mystery-transport-planes-170428323.html

China sends mystery transport planes into Iran Tue, June 17, 2025 at 2:35 PM EDT [Getty Images]

At least 30 US military planes have been moved from bases in America to Europe over the past three days, flight tracking data reviewed by BBC Verify has shown. The planes in question are all US military tanker aircraft used to re-fuel fighter jets and bombers. According to Flightradar24, at least seven of these- all KC-135s - stopped off in US airbases in Spain, Scotland and England. The flights come as Israel and Iran continue to exchange strikes, after Israel launched an operation on Friday that it said was to destroy Tehran's nuclear programme. It is unclear whether the US movements are directly connected to the conflict, but one expert told BBC Verify that the tanker aircraft flights were "highly unusual". Justin Bronk, a senior analyst with the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank, said that the deployments were "highly suggestive" that the US was putting in place contingency plans to "support intensive combat operations" in the region in the coming weeks. The seven jets tracked by BBC Verify have since travelled on and according to flight tracking data could be seen flying east of Sicily as of Tuesday afternoon. Six had no stated destination - one landed on the Greek island of Crete. But the former head of Irish Defence Forces, Vice-Admiral Mark Mellett, said that the movements could be part of a broader policy of "strategic ambiguity" that could be attempting to influence Iran to make concessions in talks over its nuclear programme. Israel initially launched an attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure on Friday, just a day after President Donald Trump's deadline to Iran to strike a deal on suspending its nuclear programme expired. The jet movements come amid reports that the US has also moved an aircraft carrier - the USS Nimitz, from the South China Sea towards the Middle East. The Reuters news agency reported that a planned event involving the ship in Vietnam was cancelled after what the US embassy in Hanoi called an "emergent operational requirement".

MarineTraffic, a ship-tracking website, showed that the USS Nimitz's last location was in the Malacca Strait heading towards Singapore early on Tuesday. The Nimitz carries a contingent of fighter jets and is escorted by several guided missile destroyers. Follow live updates on this story What are Trump's options as tensions escalate? 'Don't let beautiful Tehran become Gaza': Iranians tell of shock and confusion Lyse Doucet: Where is Israel's operation heading? The US has also moved F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets to bases in the Middle East, three defence officials told Reuters on Tuesday. The tanker planes moved to Europe over the past several days can be used to re-fuel these jets. Earlier on Tuesday, Vice-President JD Vance suggested that the US could intervene to support Israel's campaign, writing on social media that Trump "may decide he needs to take further action" to end Iran's nuclear programme.

Tehran is believed to run two principal underground enrichment sites. Natanz has already been hit by Israel, and Fordo is buried deep within a mountain complex near the city of Qom. To penetrate the facility, the US would likely have to use GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) munitions, two senior Western military officers told BBC Verify. MOPs are huge, 30,000lb (13,600kg) bombs also known as "bunker busters". [BBC] The bomb is the only conventional weapon of its kind that is thought to be capable of breaching up to 200ft (60m) of concrete.

Only the B-2 stealth bomber can carry the munitions. Recently, the US has had a squadron of B-2 bombers at its base on the island of Diego Garcia. While the island is some 2,400 miles from Iran's southern coastline, their location on Diego Garcia would put them well within striking of range of Iran. "You would be able to maintain a sustained operation from [Diego Garcia] far more efficiently," Air Marshall Greg Bagwell - a former RAF deputy operations chief - told BBC Verify. "You could literally have them round the clock operating." Satellite images first showed B-2 bombers had been stationed on Diego Garcia at the end of March, but the most recent imagery from the island no longer shows the bombers present. Vice-Admiral Mellet said he would expect to see the bombers on the island ahead of any operation targeting Iran and called their absence "a missing piece of the jigsaw". Air Marshall Bagwell agreed. But he noted that B-2s have been known to operate for 24 hours at a time and could launch from the continental US if the White House decided to launch a strike. "They've taken away any means for Iran to now defend itself, which obviously leaves any military or even the nuclear targets pretty much at the mercy of whatever Israel wants to do to it."

 

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The passing of Barry Amos,

I talked to Bill and his wife yesterday. He asked me to post this. Saundra is the one who leads the Honor flights that take veterans to visit Washington DC. She is the only female to come to a Bubba Breakfast and I invited her to come to our next one on 11 July talk about Honor flight.

Hi Skip,

Please pass this on to The List.

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of my Naval Academy roommate (class of 1969) and best friend for life, Barry Amos, who departed the pattern peacefully in his sleep on June 12th after a twenty-year battle with Parkinson's disease.  To sum up Barry's life, he was a great scholar, gifted athlete, exceptional fighter pilot, naval officer of unimpeachable honor and integrity and dedicated husband and father.  

Having met as plebes when we were just 18-year-old kids, we had no idea that we would become such close friends and that our lives would remain so intertwined over the next 60 years.   We flew fighters together, competed on the tennis court, waged political discussions into the wee hours of the morning and remained the closest of confidants throughout our lives.

At every step along the way, whether escaping from SERE school or volunteering for Vietnam, Barry was most impressive.  In fact, Admiral John Ed Kerr, then a junior officer and F-4 fighter pilot in VF-114, said that after the squadron had just lost 4 crewmembers in combat, it was great to have a guy like Barry show up, "eager and aggressive and all-in for the rigors of a difficult environment" in the last few months of their 1972 Vietnam combat cruise.  

After pulling a couple of shenanigan's and then attending a party with a balloon pattern "clown" shirt, Barry earned the callsign "Bonzo."  In many ways, this was a tribute to the fact that although he approached his position as a fighter pilot and naval officer with the upmost seriousness and dedication, he could always find a way to lighten up tense and difficult situations.

Barry and his RIO, Denny "Wildman" Faherty, completed the month-long Top Gun training course. Then, during the subsequent cruise in 1974, the skipper, J.C. Smith, an RIO, picked Barry as his pilot and me, with "Wildman," as his wingman.  J.C. was a very colorful commanding officer, who always had a twinkle in his eye and mischief up his sleeve, with which we were all only too happy to participate.  These were heady days as we were engulfed in an aura of invincibility, feeling that together we could take on any adversary in any environment and win.  Of course, it was easy to have that feeling on a post-Vietnam, peacetime cruise with no serious challenges from any worthy adversary.

After leaving VF-114, Barry became the aide for NAS Miramar Com Fit Admiral Snead, following which duty he returned to flying, this time as an F-14 RAG instructor.  Always the adventurer, Barry volunteered to spend a year in Iran teaching the Shah's fighter pilots to fly the F-14.  During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980's, Iranian F-14's achieved a very favorable kill ratio, possibly as high as ten to one, against Iraqi fighters.  I suspect Barry's tutelage a few years earlier might have been a factor.

Leaving the Navy after approximately ten years, Barry arrived at Continental Airlines just in time for strikes and reorganizations, which he decided to sit out by initially working for Hewlett-Packard and then doing an active-duty stint at the Naval Academy teaching Electrical Engineering.  Subsequently he completed his airline career at Continental as a B757/767 captain flying mostly international routes.

In addition to flying and athletics, Barry loved working with his hands.  No project was too large for him, as he took on totally rebuilding his GTO car engine, adding rooms, doing cabinetry and creating complicated six-level-molding box beam ceilings and window surrounds.  Like his impeccable navy and airline uniforms, his automobiles were always "spic and span."  In fact, he polished a brand-new truck so frequently that within a year he had rubbed off some of the paint down to the metal.

Barry had a great life that was unfortunately derailed by Parkinson' a bit early.  I learned a lot from Barry, as he lived his life by a system of values and standards that few could ever match. 

Barry is survived by his daughter, Taylor and her navy pilot husband, Charlie Hiett, their two children, Max and Drew, his wife Eliza and their son, Alexander, and his two sisters, Sandra and Susan.

Memorial services are yet to be scheduled.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation in Barry's honor.

Bill "Hatchet" Cima

 

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This Day in U S Military History…….June 18

 

1944 – On Saipan, elements of the US 5th Amphibious Corps continue to make progress. The 4th Marine Division reaches the west side of the island at Magicienne Bay. This advance divides the Japanese garrison. Elements of the 27th Division capture Aslito airfield. Japanese air strikes sink 1 American destroyer and 2 tankers as well as damaging the escort carrier Fanshaw Bay. Most of the American air and naval support has withdrawn to meet the approaching Japanese fleet.

 

1945 – On instructions from Emperor Hirohito, Prime Minister Suzuki tells the Japanese Supreme Council that it is the intention of Hirohito to seek peace with the Allies as soon as possible.

1945 – On Okinawa, the remnants of the Japanese 32nd Army continue to offer determined resistance to attacks of the US 3rd Amphibious Corps and the US 24th Corps. Lt. General Simon Bolivar Buckner, commanding US 10th Army, is killed by Japanese artillery fire while he is on a visit to the front line, inspecting troops of the US 8th Marine Division. He is temporarily replaced by General Geiger, commanding the US 3rd Amphibious Corps. ( Buckner Bay on the east side of the Island is named for him) The battle for Okinawa is in its 78th of 82 days and the fighting remains brutal.

1945 – On Luzon, elements of the US 37th Division, supported by an armored column, advance in the Caygayan valley, capturing Ilagan airfield and crossing the Ilagan River. On Mindanao, organized Japanese resistance comes to an end. Forces of the Japanese 35th Army have been cut off and dependent on roots and tree bark for food for some time now. Nonetheless, some small units of Japanese continue to resist.

1945 – Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower received a tumultuous welcome in Washington, where he addressed a joint session of Congress. Eisenhower went on to meet Pres. Harry Truman and the 2 men established a warm relationship that later soured. In 2001 Steve Neal authored "Harry and Ike: The Relationship That Remade the Postwar World."

 

1953 – U.S. Air Force Captains Lonnie R. Moore and Ralph S. Parr ( Parr was a WWII ace and also flew in Vietnam) of the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing became the 33rd and 34th aces of the war. Their F-86s were named "Billie/Margie" and "Barb/Vent De Mort.

 

1965 – For the first time, 28 B-52s fly-bomb a Viet Cong concentration in a heavily forested area of Binh Duong Province northwest of Saigon. Such flights, under the aegis of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), became known as Operation Arc Light. The B-52s that took part in the Arc Light missions had been deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and more bombers were later deployed to bases in Okinawa and U-Tapao, Thailand. In addition to supporting ground tactical operations, B-52s were used to interdict enemy supply lines in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, and later to strike targets in North Vietnam. Releasing their bombs from 30,000 feet, the B-52s could neither be seen nor heard from the ground as they inflicted awesome damage. B-52s were instrumental in breaking up enemy concentrations besieging Khe Sanh in 1968 and An Loc in 1972. Between June 1965 and August 1973, 126,615 B-52 sorties were flown over Southeast Asia. During those operations, the Air Force lost 29 B-52s: 17 from hostile fire over North Vietnam and 12 from operational causes.

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

 

CLARK, JAMES G.

Rank and organization: Private, Company F, 88th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 18 June 1864. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Germantown, Pa. Date of issue: 30 April 1892. Citation: Distinguished bravery in action; was severely wounded.

LEONARD, EDWIN

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company I, 37th Massachusetts Infantry. Place and date: Near Petersburg, Va., 18 June 1864. Entered service at: Agawan, Mass. Birth: Agawan, Mass. Date of issue: 16 August 1894. Citation: Voluntarily exposed himself to the fire of a Union brigade to stop their firing on the Union skirmish line.

LUDWIG, CARL

Rank and organization: Private, 34th New York Battery. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 18 June 1864. Entered service at: ——. Birth: France. Date of issue: 30 July 1896. Citation: As gunner of his piece, inflicted singly a great loss upon the enemy and distinguished himself in the removal of the piece while under a heavy fire.

MOSTOLLER, JOHN W.

Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 54th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Lynchburg, Va., 18 June 1864. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Somerset County, Pa. Date of issue: 27 December 1894. Citation: Voluntarily led a charge on a Confederate battery (the officers of the company being disabled) and compelled its hasty removal.

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for June 18

FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR June 18 THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

 

18 June

 

1861: Thaddeus S. C. Lowe telegraphed the first message from a balloon to a ground station. In the White House, President Lincoln received Lowe's telegraphic report. (4)

 

1916: The Germans shot down H. Clyde Balsley of the Lafayette Escadrille near Verdun, France. Balsley was the first American aviator to be shot down in World War I. He survived. Hit in the pelvis, he made it through a crash landing and endured several operations, but never returned to the air. (4)

 

1934: Boeing initiated company-funded design work on the Model 299, the B-17 prototype. (20)

 

1957: SAC placed the KC-135 Stratotanker into service. (12)

 

1959: Six US Navy enlisted men began an 8-day experiment in a dummy spaceship at the Air Crew Equipment Laboratory, Naval Air Materiel Center, Philadelphia Naval Base. (18)

 

1962: The USAF's Aerospace Research Pilot School, the first for operational personnel, began a 7-month course at Edwards AFB with seven Air Force officers and one USN officer. (16) (24) A RAF crew launched the last combat training Thor missile, the 22d, at Vandenberg AFB. (6)

 

1963: A SAC crew launched the first Minuteman missile under simulated combat conditions. (12)

 

1964: General Dynamics delivered the first RB/WB-57F (a Canberra B-57 modified with extremely long wings) to the Air Weather Service for its aerial sampling mission. (18)

 

1965: The Titan III-C, the first liquid-fuel spacecraft lifted by solid-fuel rockets, completed its maiden flight. (12) The 1st Air Commando Squadron, 34th Tactical Group, Bien Hoa AB received the Presidential Unit Citation. This was the first unit so honored since the Korean War. FIRST ARC LIGHT MISSION. From Andersen AFB, the 320 BMW and 7 BMW dispatched 28 B-52Fs to hit a Viet Cong jungle stronghold near Saigon. This was the first use of B-52s in Vietnam, and the first time B-52s dropped bombs in combat. The operation used 30 KC-135s to provide refueling support. (1) (16) (18)

 

1966: The USAF finished a year of B-52 strikes against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces. The bombers flew more than 350 conventional missions to drop more than 70,000 tons of bombs on selected targets. (16)

 

1968: In three years of Vietnam operations, SAC's B-52 accomplished more than 25,000 sorties to deliver more than 630,000 tons of conventional bombs. (16)

 

1974: At Edward666s AFB, Lt Col James G. Rider became the first USAF pilot to fly the YF-17. (3)

 

1981: The F-117A Nighthawk, the first stealth combat aircraft in the world, flew for the first time at the Tonopah Test Range, Nev. Hal Farley flew the aircraft. (21)

 

1983: KEY EVENT--FIRST US WOMAN IN SPACE. Dr. Salley K. Ride became the first US woman in space on the second Challenger and seventh Space Shuttle mission. On 24 June, the craft returned to earth. (3)

 

1996: The 35 FW at Misawa AB, Japan, once again became a "Wild Weasel" unit in a brief formal ceremony. The 35th began its training in the radar detection and suppression mission at George AFB, Calif., in July 1973 with F-105s, later F-4Cs and F-4Gs. In Operation DESERT STORM, the wing's 24 F-4Gs flew more than 1,180 combat sorties in the Arabian Gulf, suppressing enemy air defenses, with no losses incurred. The 35 FW activated at Misawa on 1 October 1994 to operate 36 F-16CJ aircraft. (AFNEWS)

 

1999: Two 159 FW (Louisiana ANG) F-15As deployed to NAS Keflavik, Iceland, for a NATO exercise intercepted Russian TU-95 Bear bombers in the Icelandic Military Air Defense Identification Zone in a long range probe not seen since the Cold War's end. Two more 159th Eagles, launched from Keflavick, escorted the bombers out of the area. (32)

 

2001: At McGuire AFB, SMSgt Jere Garvin, a 2 AREFS flight engineer, reached 10,000 flying hours. His 24-year career included flying time in C-130s, C-141s, the E-3 Sentry, and KC-10 Extender in over 2,400 sorties. On this date, Garvin was the only active-duty flight engineer to reach that milestone. (AFNEWS Article 0947, 13 July 2001)

 

2003: The USAF released a roadmap to retire 133 KC-135E Stratotankers and assign 100 KC-767A tankers to be leased. Under the plan, Fairchild AFB would become the first active-duty base to receive the new KC-767As in FY2006. By 2010, several Air Reserve Component units would also convert from E-model to R-model KC-135s to the KC-767A. (22) Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. AMC released Civil Reserve Air Fleet carriers from supporting this operation. From 8 February to 2 June 2003, the 11 CRAF carriers flew 1,625 missions to airlift 254,100 troops to the Middle East and other destinations. (22)

 

2005: TALISMAN SABER 2005. Through 21 June, six C-17 Globemaster IIIs from McChord AFB and Charleston AFB supported an international exercise. The participants included more than 6,000 Australian and 10,000 US service members from the USAF, Army, Navy, and Marines. The Globemaster IIIs flew from Elmendorf AFB on 18 June and flew 7,000-plus miles across the Pacific Ocean to northeastern Australia in one of the C-17's longest direct-delivery airdrops yet. Each C-17 received two air refuelings, the first near Alaska and the second near Hawaii. American and Australian armed forces practiced a "forced entry operation" in the exercise, and the C-17s airdropped troops and supplies at night. (22) .

 

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One final bit

Trump delivers MASSIVE win for blue-collar workers

Scott Bessent announced blue-collar wages rose nearly 2% in Trump's first 5 months in office, the largest increase in almost 60 years

POLITIBRAWL

 

Blue-collar workers have seen nearly 2% real wage growth in Trump's first five months of his second term, representing the largest increase for any administration in nearly 60 years and a dramatic reversal from the 1.7% decline they experienced under Biden when inflation outpaced earnings.

•             Unprecedented Win For Trump's Base: Trump is the only president since Richard Nixon in 1969 to achieve positive wage growth for blue-collar workers in his first five months, having also recorded 1.3% growth in his first term. Every other administration has seen wage declines in comparable periods, with George H.W. Bush recording the worst drop at 3.0%.

•             Bessent Key To Policy Success: Much credit for this economic turnaround belongs to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whose strategic leadership has been instrumental in translating Trump's vision into tangible results. Bessent attributes the wage surge to falling inflation, Trump's emphasis on manufacturing, and efforts to remove illegal migrants from the workforce.

"Biden opened the border, and it was flooded," Bessent said in an appearance on the NY Post's 'Pod Force One' podcast. "And for working Americans, that's a disaster because it's pressure on their wages."

                

 

•             Future Legislative Boost: Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" could deliver a "double whammy" of lower inflation and accelerating wages when it passes the Senate as early as July. The budget reconciliation bill includes eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay for 80+ million hourly workers, plus tax incentives for domestic manufacturing.

•             Job Creation Goals: The legislation aims to create up to 6 million blue-collar jobs in construction and manufacturing through incentives for manufacturers to build U.S. factories, representing a deliberate effort to reverse decades of offshoring and restore American industrial capacity for working-class communities.

POLL

Historic increase in blue collar wages - Is this what you voted for?

Heck yes!

 

No, I wanted Cackling Kamala

 

________________________________________

Watch Scott Bessent CLASH with crazy old Bernie Sanders, refuses to take his socialist crap

 

JD Vance announces possible U.S. action against Iran

Vice President JD Vance alluded to potential US actions against Iran's nuclear weapon development today in a post on X that emphasized the Trump Administration's priority of America First goals and U.S. citizen safety.

                

 

•             Vice President JD Vance indicated that President Trump may consider additional measures to halt Iran's nuclear enrichment, stressing that any actions would prioritize U.S. interests and avoid unnecessary foreign entanglements.

Vance wrote:

"He (Trump) may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president. And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy. But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue. And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people's goals. Whatever he does, that is his focus."

•             Vance emphasized that the administration is open to a civil nuclear program for Iran but insists on the cessation of uranium enrichment to levels that could lead to nuclear weapons development.

•             Despite some conservative critics warning against military escalation, Vance defended Trump's approach, highlighting a focus on safeguarding American interests and avoiding entrenchment in foreign conflicts, saying that "the president has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military's focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens."

________________________________________

ICE resumes raids in highly populated illegal immigrant industries

The Trump Administration has reversed a newly implemented deportation policy, reinstating raids of industries with a high concentration of illegal immigrant workers.

                

 

•             Policy Reversal: The Trump administration has reversed its previous directive to pause Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on farms, hotels, and restaurants. The Department of Homeland Security instructed agents to resume enforcement operations at these workplaces, citing the need to address illegal immigration and uphold immigration laws.

•             Targeted Industries: The resumption of raids focuses on industries heavily reliant on migrant labor, including agriculture, hospitality, and food services. These sectors have expressed concerns about labor shortages and potential disruptions to operations due to the enforcement actions.

•             Operational Goals: ICE has set a daily arrest target of 3,000 individuals as part of its enforcement strategy. The agency aims to increase the number of arrests and deportations, aligning with the administration's broader immigration enforcement objectives.

•             Industry Reactions: Business leaders and industry associations have expressed concerns about the impact of the resumed raids on their operations. Some have called for alternative solutions, such as temporary work permits for undocumented workers, to mitigate labor shortages and ensure continuity in their businesses.

________________________________________

1,500 Jewish Americans on Israel Birthright evacuate amidst Iran bombings

Governor Ron DeSantis helped coordinate the return of over 1,000 Americans on an Israel birthright trip amid the rising tensions with Iran.

                

 

•             Evacuation by Sea: Approximately 1,500 young American participants of Israel's Birthright program were evacuated via a cruise ship escorted by the Israeli navy. The ship departed from Ashdod, Israel, heading to Larnaca, Cyprus, as a precaution against ongoing ballistic missile threats from Iran.

•             Assistance from Florida Governor: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis facilitated the evacuation by chartering four flights to transport the evacuees from Cyprus to Tampa, Florida. This effort was part of a broader initiative to assist Americans stranded in Israel due to flight cancellations amid the conflict.

•             Participants' Experiences: Among the evacuees, reactions varied. Jaxon Zemachson, a 20-year-old from Scarsdale, New York, described the experience as "a great story to tell my kids," noting that while the initial missile attack was alarming, subsequent events felt calmer.

•             Broader Impact: At the time of the evacuation, nearly 2,800 individuals were participating in Birthright trips to Israel, with the majority being young Americans. The situation underscores the challenges faced by travelers amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.

              

 

 

 

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