TheList 7213

The List 7213

Good Friday morning June 20 .the sun is out and it is a clear sky . 69 right now but going to 78 later. Last class last night for the Spring quarter where we handed out new belts and certificates. and starting the summer quarter on Monday. Got to build a new roster and such for the new students Always nice to see them light up because not all pass.

The coyotes are out and last night we got a note that a pack of five were running around. The night before there were a bunch of them singing right up the street from the house. I am told that it is puppy season so we have to watch out when we let the dogs out even in the daytime. I do not got out unprepared.

The bridal path otherwise called the Coyote Hiway runs right by the end of my yard. Just got all the weeds whacked down so there are no hiding places for them or the rattle snakes.

Have a great weekend

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 20

1813 - Fifteen U.S. gunboats engage 3 British ships in Hampton Roads, VA

1815 - Trials of Fulton I, built by Robert Fulton, are completed in New York. This ship would become the Navy's first steam-driven warship.

1898 - U.S. forces occupied Guam, which became first colony of U.S. in the Pacific.

1913 While piloting the B-2 at 1,600 feet over the water near Annapolis, Md., Ensign William D. Billingsley is thrown from the plane and falls to his death. Billingsley is the first fatality of Naval Aviation.

1934 Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet, Rear Adm. Frank Upham reports to the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. William H. Standley, that based on the analyses of Japanese radio traffic, "any attack by (Japan) would be made without previous declaration of war or intentional warning."

1941 USS O-9 (SS 70) sinks off Portsmouth, N.H., during a test dive. Salvage ships located her in more than 400 feet of water, but she had suffered crushing damage from the water pressure at that depth and all 33 men on board had been killed.

1943 - PBY patrol aircraft from (VP 84) sinks German submarine U 388 south-southwest of Iceland, in the first use of homing torpedo (FIDO) and damages U 420.

1944 - Battle of Philippine Sea ends with Japanese losing 2 aircraft carriers and hundreds of aircraft.

1945 The coordinated submarine attack group, commanded by Cmdr. Earl T. Hydeman, continues operations against Japanese shipping in the Sea of Japan. USS Tinosa (SS 283) sinks army cargo ship Taito Maru and freighter Kaisei Maru. Also on this date, USS Kraken (SS 370) sinks Japanese auxiliary sailing vessel No.58 Tachibana Maru in Sunda Strait, off Merak.

1976 USS Spiegel Grove (LSD 32) and LCU 1654 (a Landing Craft Utility vessel) evacuate 276 American and foreign national refugees from war-torn Beirut, Lebanon and transport them to Athens, Greece.

 

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Today in World History June 20

 

451      Roman and barbarian warriors halt Attila's army at the Catalaunian Plains in eastern France.

1397    The Union of Kalmar unites Denmark, Sweden, and Norway under one monarch.

1756    Nearly 150 British soldiers are imprisoned in the 'Black Hole' cell of Calcutta. Most die.

1793    Eli Whitney applies for a cotton gin patent.

1819    The paddle-wheel steamship Savannah arrives in Liverpool, England, after a voyage of 27 days and 11 hours--the first steamship to successfully cross the Atlantic.

1837    18-year-old Victoria is crowned Queen of England.

1863    President Abraham Lincoln admits West Virginia into the Union as the 35th state.

1898    On the way to the Philippines to fight the Spanish, the U.S. Navy seizes the island of Guam.

1901    Charlotte M. Manye of South Africa becomes the first native African to graduate from an American University.

1910    Mexican President Porfirio Diaz proclaims martial law and arrests hundreds.

1920    Race riots in Chicago, Illinois leave two dead and many wounded.

1923    France announces it will seize the Rhineland to assist Germany in paying her war debts.

1941    The U.S. Army Air Force is established, replacing the Army Air Corps.

1955    The AFL and CIO agree to combine names for a merged group.

1963    The United States and the Soviet Union agree to establish a hot line between Washington and Moscow.

1964    General William Westmoreland succeeds General Paul Harkins as head of the U.S. forces in Vietnam.

1967    Boxing champion Muhammad Ali is convicted of refusing induction into the American armed services.

1972    President Richard Nixon names General Creighton Abrams as Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

1999    NATO declares an official end to its bombing campaign of Yugoslavia.

 

 

1975   Jaws released »

I was flying F-8 Crusaders on the USS Hancock at the time and we liked the phrase "We got to get a bigger boat" We thought so also.  skip

 

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A very  interesting Read

 Thanks to Brett and VDH

Israel Dismantles Iran's Defenses, but Will It Be Enough?

Victor Davis Hanson | June 18, 2025

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Victor Davis Hanson @VDHanson

Victor Davis Hanson, a senior contributor for The Daily Signal, is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and host of "The Victor Davis Hanson Show." His website, The Blade of Perseus, features columns, lectures, and exclusive content for subscribers. Contact him at authorvdh@gmail.com.

Editor's note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today's video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos.

Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. We are at a historic time in the Middle East. Never in our lifetimes have we been closer to a complete revolutionary fervor that gives promise of normalcy for the Middle East. And never have we been in more danger of seeing the entire region blow up.

What am I referring to? The war right now between Iran and Israel.

It is surreal. If we had this conversation five years ago and I said to you, the Iranian nation—that is huge compared to Israel, 10 times the population—the Iranian nation has lost all control of the Houthi terrorists and they are themselves neutered. Their surrogates in the West Bank, Gaza are neutered. They're gone, Hamas as a fighting force. The formidable, the terrifying Hezbollah cadres, they're inert.

There is no more Syria—the Assad dynasty, the pro-Iranian Syria—it's in chaos. But whatever the chaos is, it seems to be anti-Iranian. There is no Shia Crescent, starting with Tehran, all the way to the Mediterranean. Lebanon is free of Iranian influence. So is Syria. Gaza, de facto, will be.

There is no Russian presence. It's not a patron. It is not a protector. It's not a power in the Middle East. It's tied down in Ukraine.

And Iran itself, the formidable powerhouse of the Middle East that evoked terror all over, has no defenses.

And now we've seen five days of war, in which the Israelis have systematically dismantled all of the Iranian missile defenses. They have air defenses. They have dismantled the terrorist hierarchy. They have dismantled the people who are responsible for the nuclear program.

We're down to a single critical issue. They have suffered casualties. The Iranians have sent over 400 ballistic missiles and drones into Israel. And 90% are stopped but that 10% gets through.

But here's the crux. All of this chaos and all of this war will be for naught if Iran's theocracy emerges intact from this war and its nuclear infrastructure can either be quickly rebuilt or there are elements of it that have been missed and maybe there is enough fissile material—if not already, soon—to make another bomb.

So, here we are at the critical point.

Should Israel continue, does it have the ability to nullify the entire nuclear program, which was the object of this war? Or must it rely on the bunker-buster devices, bombs of the United States?

And if the United States should try to go into these key nuclear facilities and blow them up—with the ordinance and the aircraft that it has, which Israel lacks—will it be fighting an optional Middle East war? Of which the MAGA doctrine says: No more forever wars. No more intervention in the Middle East. No more ground troops.

Or can President Donald Trump say: "I'm not an isolationist. I'm a Jacksonian. You should have known that when I took out Qasem Soleimani in my first term, when I took out Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, when I took out the Wagner Group. I don't like to intervene. But when people threaten the United States and our deterrence as a matter of conjecture, I want to ensure that they understand the repercussions."

And so, is there a fight between the isolationists and the Jacksonians or is it just a minor group of people on the right who don't want any action at all?

And we don't know the answer yet. But if this war should end with the Iranian regime intact and the elements of its nuclear program recoverable, then, in some ways, it will be all for naught. And people will make the necessary adjustments in the Middle East. And it won't be necessarily, well, Iran is still very weak. They've lost all their terrorist surrogates. They have no air defenses. They've lost their media. They've lost their commanding—it will be more like, my gosh, Iran survived everything that Israel and, by association, the United States threw at it. It's indestructible.

And so, we're at a critical cusp. It's, do you risk more danger by taking out and eliminating the nuclear threat for good and, by association, humiliate the theocracy to the point it can be overthrown, or do you play it safe and have negotiations and allow the regime and the remnants to survive?

I don't like forever wars. I don't like preemptive wars. I do not like the United States intervening anywhere in that godforsaken area. But if the war ends with the regime intact and a recoverable nuclear program, it won't just be back to square one, it will be a disaster.

So, we'll see what happens. And hold on, everybody. I think we're going to see things that we haven't seen in a lifetime in the Middle East. And it could turn out very bad, but it could also turn out to be quite revolutionary and remake the map of the entire region.

 

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Thanks to American Facts

12 Things You Didn't Know About The Hollywood Sign

 

The Hollywood Sign is full of history, sponsorships, drama, and reinventions. Did you know that it was originally not only a longer word but also physically larger? And like the Eiffel Tower, it was originally intended to be a temporary structure. Read on to learn more interesting facts about LA's most famous backdrop!

 

 

It was originally an advertisement

Have you ever wondered why the sign exists at all? After all, not many cities display neighborhood names on a nearby hill. When the sign was first erected in 1923, it was simply a billboard promoting a real estate development, and it was supposed to stand for only about 18 months.

 

 

It used to be longer

The sign originally read **"Hollywoodland"**—the name of a new housing development that promised wealthy buyers unique views of the sunny hills of Los Angeles. So, they stuck a gigantic sign on Mount Lee. Just temporary, they said. Just for marketing.

 

Over 20 years later, the district had become more culturally relevant than the housing development, but people had grown used to the sight by then. So, they decided to let go of four letters. Each cost a fortune to maintain anyway.

 

 

It used to be bigger

The original "Hollywoodland" sign was massive. Each letter stood 43 feet tall and stretched 30 feet across. They were made from thin metal panels slapped onto wooden frames and held up by telephone poles.

 

It dazzled from afar, but up close, it was a wobbly mess. The construction was so flimsy that by the 1930s, some of the letters were already tilting, cracking, or sliding out of place.

 

 

It's appeared in more movies than most actors

Doesn't that fact make you giggle? It's not Bette Davis, and it's not Anthony Hopkins—it's the Hollywood Sign that has more movie credits.

 

Aliens have blown it up. Earthquakes have toppled it. Sharks have flown right through it. But it's also been the backdrop for kisses, chases, and friendship montages. Directors love it because it screams "L.A." in three seconds flat.

 

 

Technically, it's not in Hollywood

The Hollywood Sign doesn't actually sit within the neighborhood of Hollywood—it stands atop Mount Lee, inside Griffith Park, which is managed by the City of Los Angeles. So while it may say Hollywood, it's not technically in Hollywood.

 

 

It's been rebuilt twice

By the 1940s, the city stepped in and gave the sign a minor facelift. After the crumbling "LAND" was scrapped, the remaining letters were patched up.

 

But by 1978, the sign was in serious trouble again—rusted, leaning, and on the verge of collapse, it was deemed beyond repair. This time, Hollywood did what it does best: rebooted it entirely. A new sign was built from scratch, using steel beams and concrete foundations.

 

 

Celebrities "sponsored" letters

When Hollywood cried for help in the late '70s, it was Playboy founder Hugh Hefner who stepped in. The city didn't have the funds to rebuild the sign, so Hefner threw a glitzy fundraiser to find sponsors for each of the nine letters, at $27,777 apiece.

 

And it worked. Alice Cooper funded the "O" in memory of Groucho Marx. Gene Autry sponsored the second "L." Even Warner Bros. chipped in.

 

 

No public trail leads directly to it

Perhaps you've heard a disappointed tourist complain about this before: You can hike near it. You can pose below it. But actually walking up to the letters is a no-go. The trails in Griffith Park will get you close, with plenty of Instagram-worthy views. But conservation efforts mean you'll never legally stand between the "L"s.

 

One reason is that decades ago, it was easier to reach the sign—and some fans even climbed the letters.

 

 

The land surrounding it was once nearly sold for development

In the early 2000s, developers had their eyes on the land behind the sign. The plan was to construct luxury homes in the hills with killer views. But the public response was pure outrage.

 

Enter Hugh Hefner (again), along with celebrities and conservation groups, who raised over $12 million to save the land. Today, those hills are permanently protected.

 

 

It has its own security team

As mentioned earlier, you can't get a selfie next to the "H" because the sign is off-limits to the public. It's monitored 24/7 with infrared cameras, motion sensors, microphones, and regular patrols. Some hikers still try their luck, but trespassing can lead to citations, fines, and in some cases, arrest.

 

 

It's copyrighted; you can't just slap it on a T-shirt

Call a lawyer before you print the Hollywood Sign on your merch. Some trademark rights to the sign are owned by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. That means any commercial use—like shirts, mugs, or movie scenes—requires a license. Even photographers have to tread carefully.

 

 

Helicopters were used to move the letters

The letters have been helicoptered off before. In 1978, when the new sign was being installed, the old, rusted letters had to go. But since you can't exactly wheel 50-foot steel slabs down a hiking trail, helicopters came to the rescue.

 

One by one, the original letters were airlifted off the mountain in a strange, sky-high farewell. It was quite an event, and crowds gathered to watch.

 

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Rollingthunderremembered.com .

June 20

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 Friday June 20

June 20:  https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2924

 

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Thanks to History Facts

The first woman in space forgot this important item

We've all had that moment of panic upon realizing we left something important at home, but most of us have at least been on planet Earth when it happened. The first woman in space wasn't so lucky: Valentina Tereshkova went without a toothbrush during her three days aboard the Vostok-6 spacecraft in 1963. To be fair, it wasn't her fault. Mission control was actually in charge of packing the essentials, as the pioneering cosmonaut had other, presumably more scientific, things to focus on. In any case, she didn't seem too bothered by the oversight: "I was resourceful, as any woman would be," she said in 2015. "I had my hands and water." Any kid who's slept over at a friend's house without planning for it in advance can relate.

More than six decades later, Tereshkova remains the only woman to have piloted a solo mission to space; five other women were trained for the mission, but the then-26-year-old was ultimately chosen. "A bird cannot fly with one wing only," she has said of her historic role. "Human spaceflight cannot develop any further without the active participation of women." Sally Ride became the first American woman in space (and the third overall after Svetlana Savitskaya) 20 years later in 1983; not having heard anything to the contrary in the decades since, we can safely presume that she had her toothbrush with her.

 

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Thanks to Barrel

Unbelievable WW2 coincidence (or miracle)!

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/KY9xouaS_Y4?feature=share

 

A mother keeps her son safe in WWII by being very diligent in her work at home.

At several airfields, one by one C-47s began speeding down runways, and by 11:30 P.M., all of the 101st Airborne's 6,638 parachutists were winging toward Normandy where they would leap onto and behind German positions.

On board one craft carrying troopers of Lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Cole's battalion was Private Robert C. Hillman of Manchester, Connecticut. Hillman held his hand on his parachute.

A paratrooper's life hangs on his parachute. If it is faulty, he will plunge to death in a "streamer" ( a chute that fails to open). So all on board were painstakingly inspecting their lifesaving packs of silk. Hillman noticed that his pack had been inspected at the Pioneer Parachute Company, which was located in his hometown in Connecticut -- and he was a personal acquaintance of the inspector whose initials he recognized.

"I know my chute is okay," HIllman told Wright Brown, above the roar of the two engines. Brown was covering the airborne assault for the NBC radio network.

"How can you be so sure?" The correspondent queried.

"Because my mother works for the Pioneer Parachute Company as an inspector, and her initials are on my chute!"

Perhaps as many as a million parachutes, manufactured by scores of American firms, had been distributed to the armed forces all over the globe. By an astonishing circumstance, Private Hillman had been assigned a chute inspected by his own mother.

He survived WW2.

 

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Thanks to Interesting Facts

Not so fast I , think I can put my hand on one of each of these except a burn Barrel…but I have one metal trash can that could do in a pinch..Or I have a large metal Grill where I regularly burn food.  .Skip

10 Once-Common Household Items You Don't See Anymore

Time keeps marching on, and yesterday's technology is old news today. As in decades past, we still want to communicate, keep our homes clean, and feed ourselves, but we have more convenient ways to do so, leaving now-obsolete — but sometimes nostalgic — items behind.

For example, our phones, which are now tiny pocket computers, replaced a lot of once-common items such as landlines and alarm clocks. Take a walk down memory lane to see some other bygone relics, and try to guess which of today's everyday objects will become extinct in the next 10 years.

1 of 10

Burn Barrel

In times past, burn barrels were a common means of waste disposal — you'd just take your garbage out back and burn it in a barrel. But the nature of waste has changed so that it's less safe to burn, and municipal trash pickup is available in most places. Burn barrels have also become illegal or restricted in many areas, and permits to use them are often required.

2 of 10

Slide Projector

These days, if you want to show a friend your vacation photos, you scroll through them on your phone or tablet. But back in the 1950s (and for a few decades after), you gathered everybody in the living room and showed your photos via slide projector. The Kodak Carousel, one of the most popular household models, ceased production in 2004, although slide projectors are still sometimes used in museums.

3 of 10

Typewriters

Typewriters still have a robust vintage market, but with the advent of computers, printers, and paperless documents, they're now an extremely niche interest, not a household necessity.

4 of 10

Landline Phones

Fifteen years ago, just rotary phones would have been obsolete, but nowadays, mobile devices have nearly completely usurped traditional hardwired telephones. Around a quarter of United States households still have a landline, but only around 3% rely on them. Out of those who still have landlines, more than two-thirds of them work through an internet connection and don't use traditional copper phone lines.

Even seniors are increasingly relying on their mobile phones; just under half of them have ditched landlines, compared to less than 10% in 2010.

5 of 10

Traditional Alarm Clocks

Anybody with a smartphone can easily set off a rousing noise whenever they need to wake up — so it's pretty rare to see traditional alarm clocks, especially mechanical models. If you see an alarm clock on someone's nightstand, chances are it's a smart alarm clock or one that uses light instead of or in addition to sound.

6 of 10

Paper Takeout and Delivery Menus

Before delivery apps and online menus were readily available, people picked up paper menus from their favorite restaurants — or occasionally a restaurant mailed them or dropped them at people's doors for advertising. Now, they're pretty rare, leaving more space in the average junk drawer for charging cables.

7 of 10

Paper Phone Books

In the early 2010s, 804,000 tons of paper phone books were produced in the United States, but only around 30% of people actually used them (or at least the white pages). Over the next several years, municipalities started to try to legislate them out of existence. They're a little more common in some areas than others — Philadelphia, for example, required them until 2017, so they're only recently a relic — but middle schoolers in certain areas may have never even seen one.

8 of 10

Telephone Answering Machines

Before the 1970s, most home phones weren't hooked up to any kind of answering machine. If nobody was home, the phone would just keep ringing. When the average person started using answering machines (physical devices that were set up next to a telephone), they changed the way people used the phone because you could instantly leave a message for anyone. Eventually answering machines gave way to voicemail, which didn't require a physical device and let people check messages remotely. However, because you could pick up the phone in the middle of an answering machine message, people kept using them to screen calls before caller ID became commonplace. Now, people barely even use voicemail anymore.

9 of 10

Rolodexes

A index card holder, also called a rolodex. Before your phone's contact list, you had a few ways of storing phone numbers. You could use an address book, write them down in random places, or maintain an archive of business cards. Alternatively, you could use a Rolodex, a compact rolling file of index cards with phone numbers on them. Notebooks, business cards, and random notes are (mostly) still around — but dedicated devices like Rolodexes, not nearly as much.

10 of 10

Manual Carpet Sweepers

Need to vacuum but don't have an outlet? Carpet sweepers used to reach those hard-to-access spots — you just pushed them along and rollers underneath caused rotary brushes, like the kind you see under vacuums, to rotate. They still exist, but with cordless and quieter vacuums available, you rarely see them.

 

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Thanks  to Craig

The Genius of Henry Ford.

This was BEFORE Pearl Harbor !!!

Ford's B-24 Bomber Plant at Willow Run, MI.

 

Henry Fordwas determined that he could mass produce bombers just as he had done with cars.

He built the Willow Run assembly plant and proved it. It was the world's largest building under one roof.

Even then FORD HAD A BETTER IDEA!

This film will absolutely blow you away - one B-24 every 55 minutes.

ADOLF HITLER HAD NO IDEA THE U.S. WAS CAPABLE OF THIS KIND OF THING.

 

http://www.youtube.com/embed/iKlt6rNciTo?rel=0.

 

7 min long, but if you like war history, and airplanes, you will enjoy the time spent watching this!

They built more B-24 than any other bomber in WWII

 

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From the Archives….Imagine receiving this from your son at Camp today

Thanks to Tom – the good old days?

Was cleaning out the attic and came across a letter from my boy scout days.  Good times:

Dear Mom and Dad:

Our scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and were worried. We are OK. Only one of our tents and two sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Chad when it happened.

Oh yes, please call Chad's mother and tell her he is OK. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found him in the dark if it wasn't for the lightning. Scoutmaster Walt got mad at Chad for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Chad said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas can will blow up? The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did. Also some of our clothes. John is going to look weird until his hair grows back.

We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Walt gets the car fixed. It wasn't his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked OK when we left.

Scoutmaster Walt said that a car that old you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance. We think it's a neat car.

He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the fenders.

It gets pretty hot with 10 people in a car. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway patrolman stopped and talked to us.

Scoutmaster Walt is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Terry how to drive on the mountain roads where there isn't any traffic. All we ever see up here is logging trucks.

This morning, all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake. Scoutmaster Walt wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Chad was afraid he would sink because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood.

Scoutmaster Walt isn't crabby like some scoutmasters.

He didn't even get mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of the time working on the car so we are trying not to cause him any trouble. Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Dave dove in the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works.

Wade and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Walt said it probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken. He said they got sick that way with food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and became our scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was doing his time. By the way, what is a pedophile?

I have to go now. We are going to town to mail our letters and buy bullets. Don't worry about anything. We are fine.

Love, Brandon

  PS: How long has it been since I had a tetanus shot?

 

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From the archives

And to think the guy who made this over two hundred years ago did it with hand tools alone…while drinking vast quantities of good German beer!

 

Amazing Antique Desk.

 

       http://www.youtube.com/embed/MKikHxKeodA?rel=0

 

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This Day in U S Military History…….June 20

1913 – First fatal accident in Naval Aviation, ENS W. D. Billingsley killed at Annapolis, MD.

1934 – Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet Admiral Frank Upham reports to CNO that based on analyses of Japanese radio traffic, "any attack by (Japan) would be made without previous declaration of war or intentional warning."

1940 – President Roosevelt strengthens his Cabinet by bringing in two prominent Republicans. Henry Stimson becomes Secretary for War and Frank Knox becomes Secretary for the Navy. Stimson is strongly against America's isolationist tradition and will be a champion of Lend-Lease.

1941 – A German U-boat sights the American battleship Texas within the area that Germany has declared is the operational area for U-boats. However, after checking with the U-boat command, the Texas is not attacked.

1941 – U.S. Army Air Forces was established, replacing the Army Air Corps.

1943 – US General Krueger establishes 6th Army headquarters at Milne Bay. There is an unsuccessful Japanese attack on the 17th Australian Brigade in the Mubo area.

1943 – Race-related rioting erupted in Detroit; federal troops were sent in two days later to quell the violence that resulted in 34 deaths and 600 wounded.

1944 – Elements of the US 1st Army advance to about 5 miles of Cherbourg and begin to encounter heavier resistance.

1944 – Nazis began mass extermination of Jews at Auschwitz.

1944 – Hitler cheats death as a bomb planted in a briefcase goes off, but fails to kill him. High German officials had made up their minds that Hitler must die. He was leading Germany in a suicidal war on two fronts, and assassination was the only way to stop him. A coup d'etat would follow, and a new government in Berlin would save Germany from complete destruction at the hands of the Allies. That was the plan. This was the reality: Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, chief of the army reserve, had been given the task of planting a bomb during a conference that was to be held at Berchtesgaden (but was later moved to Hitler's headquarters at Rastenburg). Stauffenberg planted the explosive in a briefcase, which he placed under a table, then left quickly. Hitler was studying a map of the Eastern front as Colonel Heinz Brandt, trying to get a better look at the map, moved the briefcase out of place, farther away from where the Fuhrer was standing. At 12:42 p.m. the bomb went off. When the smoke cleared, Hitler was wounded, charred, and even suffered the temporary paralysis of one arm-but he was very much alive. (He was even well enough to keep an appointment with Benito Mussolini that very afternoon. He gave Il Duce a tour of the bomb site.) Four others present died from their wounds. As the bomb went off, Stauffenberg was making his way to Berlin to carry out Operation Valkyrie, the overthrow of the central government. In Berlin, he and co-conspirator General Olbricht arrested the commander of the reserve army, General Fromm, and began issuing orders for the commandeering of various government buildings. And then the news came through from Herman Goering-Hitler was alive. Fromm, released from custody under the assumption he would nevertheless join the effort to throw Hitler out of office, turned on the conspirators. Stauffenberg and Olbricht were shot that same day. Once Hitler figured out the extent of the conspiracy (it reached all the way to occupied French), he began the systematic liquidation of his enemies. More than 7,000 Germans would be arrested (including evangelical pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer), and up to 5,000 would wind up dead-either executed or as suicides. Hitler, Himmler, and Goering took an even firmer grip on Germany and its war machine. Hitler became convinced that fate had spared him-"I regard this as a confirmation of the task imposed upon me by Providence"-and that "nothing is going to happen to me…. [T]he great cause which I serve will be brought through its present perils and…everything can be brought to a good end."

1944 – The Japanese fleet withdraws to refuel, believing that their aircraft have landed safely on Guam. US Task Force 58 (Admiral Mitscher) launches an air strike on the Japanese fleet in the late afternoon. The 216 American aircraft encounter 35 defending fighters and sink the carrier Hiyo. Two other Japanese aircraft carriers are damaged as are a battleship and a cruiser. US loses amount to 20 planes shot down and 72 crashing while attempting to land on their carriers in the dark. During the night, the Japanese fleet withdraws and are not pursued.

1944 – Vice Admiral Marc Mitchner, commander of the U.S. Task Force 58, ordered all lights on his ships turned on to help guide his carrier-based pilots back from the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

1944 – On Biak, there is fighting among the Japanese-held caves in the west of the island. The airfields and villages at Borokoe and Sorido are overrun by American forces.

1944 – The US 5th Amphibious Corps continues operations on Saipan. The US 27th Division clears the south of the island while the US 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions advance northward.

1945 – On Okinawa, Japanese resistance along the center of the line, held by the US 24th Corps, continues to be strong. The US 32nd Infantry Regiment (US 7th Division) reaches Height 89, near Mabuni, where the Japanese headquarters have been identified. On the flanks, the American Marines on the right and the infantry on the left advance virtually unopposed, capturing over 1000 Japanese and reaching the southern coast of the island at several points. The scale of surrenders is unprecedented for the forces of the Imperial Army. This has been going on since 1 April….

1945 – On Luzon, Filipino guerrillas advance up the Cagayan valley from Aparri and liberate the town of Tuguegarao. The American regimental task force enters Aparri while elements of the US 37th Division advances 2.5 miles north of Ilagan. Meanwhile, the US 8th Army headquarters announces that operations to recapture the islands of Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Palawan, as well as the western part of Mindanao, are completed.

1945 – US Task Group 12.4 (Admiral Jennings) with the carriers Lexington, Hancock and Cowpens conduct air raids on Japanese positions. The carriers are en route to join US Task Force 38.

 

 Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

 

BENSON, JAMES

Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1845, Denmark. Enlisted at: Yokohama, Japan. G.O. No.: 180, 10 October 1872. Citation: On board the U.S.S. Ossipee, 20 June 1872. Risking his life, Benson leaped into the sea while the ship was going at a speed of 4 knots and endeavored to save John K. Smith, landsman, of the same vessel, from drowning.

 

APPLETON, EDWIN NELSON

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 29 August 1876, Brooklyn, N.Y. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 84, 22 March 1902. Citation: In action against the enemy at Tientsin, China, 20 June 1900. Crossing the river in a small boat while under heavy enemy fire, Appleton assisted in destroying buildings occupied by the enemy.

 

BURNES, JAMES

Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 14 January 1870, Worcester, Mass. Accredited to: California. G.O. No.: 84, 22 March 1902. Citation: In action against the enemy at Tientsin, China, 20 June 1900. Crossing the river in a small boat with 3 other men while under a heavy fire from the enemy, Burnes assisted in destroying buildings occupied by hostile forces.

 

DAHLGREN, JOHN OLOF

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 14 September 1872, Kahliwar, Sweden. Accredited to: California. G.O. No.: 55, 19 July 1901. Citation: In the presence of the enemy during the battle of Peking, China, 20 June to 16 July 1900, Dahlgren distinguished himself by meritorious conduct.

 

*FISHER, HARRY

Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 20 October 1874, McKeesport, Pa. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 55, 19 July 1901. Citation: Served in the presence of the enemy at the battle of Peking, China, 20 June to 16 July 1900. Assisting in the erection of barricades during the action, Fisher was killed by the heavy fire of the enemy.

 

HEISCH, HENRY WILLIAM

Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 10 June 1872, Latendorf, Germany. Accredited to: California. G.O. No.: 84, 22 March 1902. Citation: In action against the enemy at Tientsin, China, 20 June 1900. Crossing the river in a small boat while under heavy fire, Heisch assisted in destroying buildings occupied by the enemy.

 

HUNT, MARTIN

Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 9 July 1873, County of Mayo, Ireland. Accredited to: Massachusetts. G.O. No.: 55, 19 July 1901. Citation: In the presence of the enemy during the battle of Peking, China, 20 June to 16 July 1900, Hunt distinguished himself by meritorious conduct.

 

McALLISTER, SAMUEL

Rank and organization: Ordinary Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 23 January 1869, Belfast, Ireland. Accredited to: California. G.O. No.: 84, 22 March 1902. Citation: In action against the enemy at Tientsin, China, 20 June 1900. Crossing the river in a small boat while under heavy enemy fire, McAllister assisted in destroying buildings occupied by the enemy.

 

WALKER, EDWARD ALEXANDER

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 2 October 1864, Huntley, Scotland. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 55, 19 July 1901. Citation: In the presence of the enemy during the battle of Peking, China, 20 June to 16 July 1900. Throughout this period, Walker distinguished himself by meritorious conduct.

 

*O'BRIEN, WILLIAM J.

Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division. Place and date: At Saipan, Marianas Islands, 20 June through 7 July 1944. Entered service at: Troy, N.Y. Birth: Troy, N.Y. G.O. No.: 35, 9 May 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty at Saipan, Marianas Islands, from 20 June through 7 July 1944. When assault elements of his platoon were held up by intense enemy fire, Lt. Col. O'Brien ordered 3 tanks to precede the assault companies in an attempt to knock out the strongpoint. Due to direct enemy fire the tanks' turrets were closed, causing the tanks to lose direction and to fire into our own troops. Lt. Col. O'Brien, with complete disregard for his own safety, dashed into full view of the enemy and ran to the leader's tank, and pounded on the tank with his pistol butt to attract 2 of the tank's crew and, mounting the tank fully exposed to enemy fire, Lt. Col. O'Brien personally directed the assault until the enemy strongpoint had been liquidated. On 28 June 1944, while his platoon was attempting to take a bitterly defended high ridge in the vicinity of Donnay, Lt. Col. O'Brien arranged to capture the ridge by a double envelopment movement of 2 large combat battalions. He personally took control of the maneuver. Lt. Col. O'Brien crossed 1,200 yards of sniper-infested underbrush alone to arrive at a point where 1 of his platoons was being held up by the enemy. Leaving some men to contain the enemy he personally led 4 men into a narrow ravine behind, and killed or drove off all the Japanese manning that strongpoint. In this action he captured S machineguns and one 77-mm. fieldpiece. Lt. Col. O'Brien then organized the 2 platoons for night defense and against repeated counterattacks directed them. Meanwhile he managed to hold ground. On 7 July 1944 his battalion and another battalion were attacked by an overwhelming enemy force estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000 Japanese. With bloody hand-to-hand fighting in progress everywhere, their forward positions were finally overrun by the sheer weight of the enemy numbers. With many casualties and ammunition running low, Lt. Col. O'Brien refused to leave the front lines. Striding up and down the lines, he fired at the enemy with a pistol in each hand and his presence there bolstered the spirits of the men, encouraged them in their fight and sustained them in their heroic stand. Even after he was seriously wounded, Lt. Col. O'Brien refused to be evacuated and after his pistol ammunition was exhausted, he manned a .50 caliber machinegun, mounted on a jeep, and continued firing. When last seen alive he was standing upright firing into the Jap hordes that were then enveloping him. Some time later his body was found surrounded by enemy he had killed His valor was consistent with the highest traditions of the service.

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for June 20

FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR June 20 THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

20 June

1911: Capt. Charles deForest Chandler (left) assumes command of the Aeronautical Division for the second time, replacing Capt. Arthur Cowan, the man who replaced him in 1910. (Roy Kirtland is on the right. The pair had just tested one of the first aerial machine guns in this Wright B Flyer.)

1913: Ensign William D. Billingsley became the first Naval aviator killed in a plane when he was thrown from a Navy Wright B2 seaplane and drowned. (20) (24)

1923: The Army's first all-metal airplane, the Gallaudet CO-1, Liberty 400, made its first flight. The Air Service engineering division designed the aircraft. (4) (24)

1930: The Army Air Corps dedicated Randolph Field in San Antonio as its West Point of the Air for primary and basic pilot training. (21)

1934: The Daniel Guggenheim Medal presented to William W. Boeing for his achievements in air transportation and aircraft manufacture. (24)

1944: The Battle of the Philippine Sea (The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot) takes place during these 48 hours. American carrier-based aircraft shoot down 370 Japanese carrier-based aircraft effectively neutralizing Japanese Naval airpower for the remainder of the war. (Contrails over Task Force 58

1945: Twentieth Air Force targets numerous Japanese cities with 480 B-29s. Mining operations continue throughout Japanese waters.

1951: The Air Force announced the first launching of its first B-61 Matador, a pilotless aircraft, at the Missile Test Center. (24) The first F-89 Scorpions were assigned to Hamilton AFB with the Western Air Defense Force. The X-5 completed its first flight at Edwards AFB.

1960: Operation BIG STAR. Through 27 June, SAC conducted four tests to check the feasibility of deploying Minuteman missiles on mobile railroad car launchers at Hill AFB. Four tests led to the activation of the 4062 SW [ICBM - Minuteman (Mobile)] at Hill later on 1 December. (1) (6)

1973: At Francis E. Warren AFB, SAC accepted the first Minuteman III missile flight. They belonged to the 90 SMW and the 400 SMS. (1)

1974: The DoD announced that the A-10 won a comparative fly-off with the A-7. (3)

1976: After entering Mars orbit on 19 June, the Viking I lander touched down on 20 June and began taking soil samples. (8) (21)

1980: GLOBAL SHIELD II. Through 29 June, SAC conducted this unannounced exercise at 44 bases. It involved over 100,000 people and 437 aircraft flying 1,035 sorties. (16)

1984: After a two-year operational test and evaluation program, the 384 AREFW at McConnell AFB received the first reengined KC-135R (Number 61-0293). (1) (26)

1999: Operation ALLIED FORCE. NATO officially ended the air war against Yugoslavia after Serb forces finished their withdrawal from Kosovo. (32)

2007: The Virginia ANG's 192 FW flew its last F-16 Fighting Falcon training mission. The wing would become the nation's first ANG unit to fly the F-22 Raptor, in associated operations with the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley. The 192d began moving from Richmond IAP to Langley in February 2006 to take on the F-22 mission. (All American Patriots.com, Virginia Air National Guard Wing Transitions at Langley, 20 June 2007)

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