TheList 7216

The List 7216

Good     Monday morning June 23 .It is still overcast right now and  supposed to clear by 10 and go to oing  go to 74 today.. Getting things ready to start classes tonight for the Summer Quarter.

 I hope that you all have a good week.

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/. 

On This Day in Naval and Marine Corps History June 23

1812  During the War of 1812, Commodore John Rodgers leads a squadron onboard USS President of New York until she battles HMS Belvidera. The first shot of the War of 1812 is fired by USS President during this engagement.

1861   During the Civil War, the Confederate Navy begins reconstruction of ex-USS Merrimack as the ironclad CSS Virginia at Gosport (Norfolk) Navy Yard, Va.

1898  During the Spanish-American War, USS Dixie fires on two Spanish gunboats at Maria Aguilar Point, Cuba.

1933  USS Macon (ZRS 5) is commissioned. Less than two years later, Macon crashes during a storm off Point Sur, Calif., ending the Navy's program of rigid airship operations.

1942  While on a routine search, a PBY rescues most of the crew of S 27 (SS 132) at Constantine Harbor, Amchitka, Aleutian Islands. The rest are brought out the next day.

1945  PB4Y 2s (VPB 118), flying from Okinawa, continue aerial mining of waters of Korean Archipelago, sowing mines in waters in channel north of Lion Do and Gantai Do, and off Ninshi Do and Chi Do.

 

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Today in World History JUNE 23

 

1683 William Penn signs a friendship treaty with the Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania.

1700 Russia gives up its Black Sea fleet as part of a truce with the Ottoman Empire.

1758 British and Hanoverian armies defeat the French at Krefeld in Germany.

1760 Austrian forces defeat the Prussians at Landshut, Germany.

1848 A bloody insurrection of workers erupts in Paris.

1863 Confederate forces overwhelm a Union garrison at the Battle of Brashear City in Louisiana.

1865 Confederate General Stand Watie surrenders his army at Fort Towson, in the Oklahoma Territory.

1884 A Chinese Army defeats the French at Bac Le, Indochina.

1885 Former general and president Ulysses S. Grant dies at the age of 63.

1902 Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy renew the Triple Alliance for a 12-year duration.

1934 Italy gains the right to colonize Albania after defeating the country.

1944 In one of the largest air strikes of the war, the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force sends 761 bombers against the oil refineries at Ploiesti, Romania.

1951 Soviet U.N. delegate Jacob Malik proposes cease-fire discussions in the Korean War.

1952 The U.S. Air Force bombs power plants on the Yalu River, Korea.

1964 Henry Cabot Lodge resigns as the U.S. envoy to Vietnam and is succeeded by Maxwell Taylor.

1966 Civil Rights marchers in Mississippi are dispersed by tear gas.

1992 Mafia boss John Gotti, who was nicknamed the "Teflon Don" after escaping unscathed from several trials during the 1980s, is sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty on 14 accounts of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering. Moments after his sentence was read in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, hundreds of Gotti's supporters stormed the building and overturned and smashed cars before being forced back by police reinforcements.

READ MORE: The Demise of the Mafia

Gotti, born and educated on the mean streets of New York City, became head of the powerful Gambino family after boss Paul Castellano was murdered outside a steakhouse in Manhattan in December 1985. The gang assassination, the first in three decades in New York, was organized by Gotti and his colleague Sammy "the Bull" Gravano. The Gambino family was known for its illegal narcotics operations, gambling activities, and car theft. During the next five years, Gotti rapidly expanded his criminal empire, and his family grew into the nation's most powerful Mafia family. Despite wide publicity of his criminal activities, Gotti managed to avoid conviction several times, usually through witness intimidation. In 1990, however, he was indicted for conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Paul Castellano, and Gravano agreed to testify against him in a federal district court in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.

On April 2, 1992, John Gotti was found guilty on all counts and on June 23 was sentenced to multiple life terms without the possibility of parole. While still imprisoned, Gotti died of throat cancer on June 10, 2002.

 

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Thanks to Al

Good Punday Morning Humor

God is talking to one of his angels.

He says, "I just created a 24-hour period of alternating light and darkness on Earth."

The angel says, "What are you going to do now?"

Replies God, "Call it a day."

 

 

     Once, long ago, a king summoned his provincial rulers. He was feeling belligerent, and wanted to scare them into paying extra taxes.

     The rulers conferred on the way, and decided that they should pay the extra. But they decided to first pretend to refuse, so they could bargain the king down.

     They arrived at the king's castle, and gathered in the audience chamber. The king made his demands, and as agreed, they started to refuse.

     Unfortunately, the king got angry, and ordered his guards to kill them on the spot. Half were slain before they even realized what was happening.

     The others had to do some quick groveling to survive. After everything had settled down, the survivors explained their plan. The king was filled with remorse.

     The moral: Don't hatchet your counts before they chicken

 

 

Zebra: Let's switch roles for a while.

Lion:   OK, I'm game.

 

 

     A truck flipped over on the highway, spilling a load of tacks. The driver got out and tried to warn other motorists. But soon there were cars with flat tires all over the highway.

     Before long, the police arrived. Just then, a woman pulled up. "What's going on?" she asked a police officer.

     "We're trying to find someone to pick up all these tacks," he answered.

     "Well," the woman replied, "why don't you just call the tacks collector?"

 

 

     Thinking about human cloning, we have to ask ourselves the hypothetical question: If you pushed your naked clone off the top of a tall building, would it be:

•                     Murder,

•                     Suicide, or

•                     Merely making an obscene clone fall?

 

 

     There is some evidence that William Tell and his family enjoyed bowling. However, all bowling records from his day were destroyed in a fire. Thus, no one knows for whom the Tells bowled!

 

 

     A miner enjoyed painting, but he was too poor to buy canvasses. So he painted on the walls of his cottage. Unfortunately, a gang of youths broke in and defaced his paintings. They were caught and taken to court, where they were charged with "corrupting the murals of a miner."

 

 

     Listen now to the story of the two brothers Hing and Ming. Each was devoted to the search for ultimate wisdom, but they differed greatly on how it was to be found. One day their pet chicken fell ill, began to molt, and soon lost all of its feathers! The brothers decided that this would be an ideal test case and agreed to each spend two months trying to cure the chicken.

     Hing immediately went back to the university. Having boned up on ornithology and traditional Chinese medicine, he decided that the answer was a prescription of gum-tree leaf tea. He gathered bushels of the tea leaves, brewed gallons of the tea, and poured it into the chicken for the two months.

     Meanwhile, Ming traveled all around China, praying at the shrines of his ancestors. One night he had a dream. His ancestors appeared and told him to feed the chicken tea made from gum-tree leaves!!!

     Ming, aware of his brother's lack of success, decided that the problem was quantity. He gathered whole CARTLOADS of leaves, and brewed BARRELS of the tea, and poured them into the chicken for the two months. At the end of the time, the poor chicken was still as naked as a bowling ball.

     Moral: All of Hing's courses, and all of Ming's kin; couldn't make gum tea refeather a hen!

 

 

     A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He slides up to the bar and announces: "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw."

 

 

     These friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not.

     He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close.

     Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that Hugh, and only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.

 

 

Have a great week,

Al

 

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Thanks to Brett

Geopolitical Futures

Keeping the future in focus

https://geopoliticalfutures.com

Daily Memo: War and the Constitution

 

By George Friedman

 

Jun 23, 2025

The U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has raised an important constitutional issue. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war. It was a wise and appropriate principle. Wars are perhaps the most consequential actions a nation can take. They can put a nation's very survival at risk and endanger military and civilian lives. Wars also reshape the economy and must by nature place some limits on citizens' constitutional right to control government actions. Congress is designed to be the representative and guarantor of the right of citizens to govern themselves.

Therefore, the idea was that the United States could not wage war without the consent of Congress, nor avoid war if Congress deemed it necessary. As commander in chief of the military, the president could decide how a war would be waged but not whether there would be a war.

The last time the United States followed the Constitution in going to war was in December 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when it declared war on Japan. In response, Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States. Since that time, the United States has waged numerous wars and military actions decided upon solely by the president, acting as commander in chief, without congressional action. The constitutional requirement for Congress to approve war has been ignored. Though Congress retains the option to vote against the funding of wars, it has exercised this power rarely and only marginally, since doing so once a war is underway and American lives are already at risk is politically and morally fraught.

This constitutional erosion since World War II is largely due to changes in technology and the nature of modern war. When the Constitution was written, the U.S. engaged in wars much more slowly. Mobilizing and invading a country took more time than it does today. Surprise attacks like Pearl Harbor were rare – and even Pearl Harbor did not threaten the immediate survival of the U.S. military or the nation. Afterward, there was still time to convene Congress and secure a formal declaration of war. Given the isolationists' strength in Congress, a war declaration prior to the Japanese attack would have been time-consuming and may have failed. But the nature of time in war has changed dramatically, especially over the past 20 years. A modern Pearl Harbor might defeat the U.S. military in a few hours.

Another critical change is in communication and transparency. A congressional debate over going to war in the 18th century could unfold without the knowledge of the would-be adversary. Even if a spy were present, it would take substantial time to relay that information. Today, by contrast, congressional debates are by nature public. Even if a secret session were called, spies in Washington could immediately alert the target nation, introducing the danger of a preemptive strike on U.S. forces.

In other words, technological advancements have rendered the 18th-century framework of war declaration obsolete. A congressional debate over the strike on Iran's nuclear facilities would have eliminated a fundamental necessity of war: surprise. It would also undermine a fundamental element in diplomacy: the ability to credibly threaten military action unless the other side makes concessions. If the president cannot make such threats without a public congressional debate, then the threat becomes less immediate and less persuasive. Both the secrecy and ambiguity essential to war and diplomacy are compromised.

This reality has, since the end of World War II, shifted the power to initiate war from Congress to the commander in chief. If war is imposed on the U.S., it must respond long before Congress is convened to debate and vote on its response. If the U.S. initiates war, surprise is essential for success.

The first instance of this shift was the Korean War in 1950. When North Korea invaded the South, the U.S. – which had forces available in Japan and elsewhere in the region – needed to act quickly to block the attack. President Harry S. Truman ordered U.S. forces into action without a declaration of war, citing authorization under the United Nations treaty. Every U.S. military action since then has similarly bypassed a formal declaration, sometimes using mutual defense treaties ratified by Congress as justification.

Formal declarations of war have become globally obsolete. For the past 80 years, presidents from both parties have initiated wars – some successful, others not; some lasting hours, others years. Congress has been sidelined not by conspiracy but by the speed and complexity of modern warfare. It is dangerous to allow any part of the Constitution to be ignored because of the precedent it sets concerning what should be the sacred foundation of the republic. The clause on declarations of war must be amended as the Constitution allows. However, returning the war-making decision to Congress is likely impossible. Time constraints and the need for secrecy make it unworkable. One possibility, granted a poor one, is that Congress could create a special committee of a small handful of members to represent it at meetings dealing with the war option. But war has become so complex, and international relations so dynamic, that it is difficult to see this as a solution for many reasons.

Insisting Congress approve every military action no longer aligns with reality. Nor does requiring a "direct threat" to be apparent before action is taken. For example, al-Qaida carried out the 9/11 attacks, and though diminished, it still operates with some protection from Iran. Al-Qaida used civilian aircraft as weapons against the United States. If Iran developed a nuclear device, placed it on a ship under a false flag and detonated it in New York Harbor, the result would be catastrophic. Iran's past and present relationships with groups like al-Qaida create plausible grounds to consider it a direct threat to the United States.

I have no idea if this is on Iran's mind, or whether U.S. intelligence is capable of detecting and blocking such an attack. I personally find this scenario unlikely but not impossible. But given the vast danger it could pose and the history of Iran's relationship with al-Qaida, it is a possibility that cannot be dismissed. The need to convince Congress of this risk would take time and put Iran on alert.

The critical argument here is that at this point in history, technology has rendered declarations of war obsolete. I do not like the idea of presidents unilaterally taking the country into war. American wars since 1945 have not always gone well and were not always needed. Checks and balances are the foundation of the Constitution's architecture, and war is the most serious of matters. This is not a matter of Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals. Perhaps a new constitutional convention can solve this problem, but it is hard to imagine a solution.

 

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Rollingthunderremembered.com .

June 23

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 Monday June 23

June 23:  https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=167

June 22:  https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1207

 

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Thanks to Kenny

1945 Today in History June 21:

Japanese forces on Okinawa surrender to American troops. After 92 days of  combat.

In 1973 (Maybe Sep?)  My Company captured 3 Japanese Army Soldiers who had not surrendered in the Northern Training Area, NTA, (extreme North end of Okinawa).  We had launched a night Practice/Rehearsal Raid from the USS Greyback (SSR -574). Rusted Rifles, only strips of shorts remaining, and 3 rounds of ammo?  There was one later group of Japanese captured in other circumstances (1974).  The Japanese Ambassador had to be flown in and convince them that the War was really over.

 Kenny Moore    

Semper Fidelis !

    (Always Faithful)

 

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Thanks to Mugs

Subject: NOT JUST ABOUT BALLOONS

 

Reasons why China is fast becoming the dominant power in the world.

 

1 - They have a very low tolerance for crime. The death sentence is swiftly and routinely used for terrorists, murderers and drug traffickers.

2 - Very low tolerance for Religion. They do not believe there is a Magic man in the sky. No such thing as a God. Almost no religious killings and getting rid of the Indigenous Chinese Muslim population as fast as they can.

3 - They have not been involved in any expensive wars or invaded any country for the last seventy years.

4 - Their primary weapon of choice to conquer the world is Finance and countries around the world are falling fast.

Not just the USA but all world is in trouble.

In the near future China will employ millions of American workers and dominate thousands of small communities all over the United States. Chinese acquisition of US businesses set a new all-time record last year and it is on pace to shatter that record this year

The Smithfield Foods acquisition is a great example. Smithfield Foods is the largest pork producer and processor in the world. It has facilities in 26 US states and it employs tens of thousands of Americans. It directly owns 460 farms and has contracts with about 2,100 others. But now a Chinese company has bought it for $ 4.7 billion and that means that the Chinese will now be the most important employer in dozens of rural communities all over America.

It is important to keep in mind that there is often not much of a difference between "the Chinese government" and "the Chinese corporations". In 2011, 43 percent of all profits in China were produced by companies where the Chinese government had a controlling interest.

Last year a Chinese company spent $2.6B to purchase AMC entertainment one of the largest movie theater chains in the United States. Chinese companies control more movie ticket sales than anyone else in the world.

But China is not just relying on acquisitions to expand its economic power.

"Economic beachheads" are being established all over America. For example, Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group, Inc. recently broke ground on a $100M plant in Thomasville, Alabama. Many of the residents of Thomas-ville, Alabama will be glad to have jobs, but it will also become yet another community that will now be heavily dependent on Communist China.

And guess where else Chinese companies are putting down roots? DETROIT.

Chinese owned companies are investing in American businesses and new vehicle techno-logy and selling everything from seat belts to shock absorbers in retail stores and hiring experienced engineers and designers in an effort to soak up the talent and expertise of domestic automakers and their suppliers.

If you recently purchased an "American-made" vehicle there is a really good chance that it has a number of Chinese parts in it. Industry analysts are hard-pressed to put a number on the Chinese suppliers in the United States.

China is very interested in acquiring energy resources in the United States.

For example, China is actually mining for coal in the mountains of Tennessee. Guizhou Gouchuang Energy Holdings Group spent 616 million dollars to acquire Triple H Coal Co. in Jacksboro, Tennessee.

At the time, that acquisition really didn't make much news, but now a group of conservatives in Tennessee is trying to stop the Chinese from blowing up their mountains and taking their coal.

And pretty soon China may want to build entire cities in the United States just like they have been doing in other countries. Right  now, China is actually building a city larger than Manhattan just outside Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

Are you starting to get the picture yet? China is on the rise and has been for a long time while America plays political games.

If you doubt this, just read the following:

When you total up all imports and exports China is now the number one trading nation on the entire planet.

# Overall, the US has run a trade deficit with China over the past decade that comes to more than 23 trillion dollars.

# China has more foreign currency reserves than anyone else on the planet.

# China now has the largest new car market in the entire world.

# China now produces more than twice as many automobiles as does the United States.

# After being bailed out by US taxpayers GM is involved in 11 joint ventures with Chinese companies.

# China is the number one gold producer in the world.

# The uniforms for the US Olympic team were made in China .

# 85% of all artificial Christmas trees the world over are made in China.

# The new World Trade Center tower in New York includes glass imported from China.

# China now consumes more energy than does the United States.

# China is now in aggregate the leading manufacturer of goods in the entire world.

# China uses more cement than the rest of the world combined.

# China is now the number one producer of wind and solar power on the entire globe.

# China produces 3 times as much coal and 11 times as much steel as the United States does.

# China produces more than 90 percent of the global supply of rare earth elements.

# China is now the number one supplier of components that are critical to the operation of any national defense system .

# In published scientific research articles China will become number one in the world very shortly. And what we have seen so far may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Don't give up on the U. S. We are still #1 in the world in -

(a) number of lawyers per capita

(b) cost of education per student

(c) growth in National debt

 

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Thanks to Mud

What a Coincidence!

    This one goes back a LONG way, so perhaps like me you'd forgotten it S/F,

 - Mud

 Definition of the word "coincidence".

A chicken farmer went to the local bar, sat down next to a woman and ordered a glass of champagne.

The woman said, "How strange, I also

ordered a glass of champagne".

"What a coincidence" said the farmer,

who added. "It is a special day for me...

I'm celebrating".

"It is a special day for me too. I am also celebrating" said the woman.

"What a coincidence" said the farmer.

While they toasted, the man asked.

"What are you celebrating"?

"My husband and I have been trying to

have a child for years, and today my

gynecologist told me that I was pregnant".

"What a coincidence" said the man.

"I'm a chicken farmer and for years

all my hens were infertile, but now

they are all set to lay fertilized eggs."

"This is awesome" said the woman.

What did you do for your chickens to

become fertile?"

"I used a different rooster" the farmer said.

The woman smiled and said.

"What a coincidence."

 

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Thanks to History Facts

 

The first candid photograph of a person was taken in 1838.

 

Before the 19th century, photography did not exist, so people who wanted a lasting image of their home, their family, or themselves had to have one painted, sculpted, or drawn. In the early 1800s, inventors in France and England were at the center of the effort to create photographic representations of objects and people. In France, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce stunned the world in 1827 when he released what is believed to be the first photograph ever taken, titled "View from the Window at Le Gras." Niépce rendered the image using a camera obscura combined with a light-sensitive metal plate, a process he called heliography. Despite its success, the heliograph required several days of exposure to capture the scene, eliminating the opportunity to photograph any people who may have been on the street.

 

In 1829, Niépce met artist and printmaker Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. Each man was familiar with the other's work. Niépce admired Daguerre's rotating diorama that had captivated Parisian audiences in 1822. Daguerre, like Niépce, saw the potential of improving upon the camera obscura to create clear and permanent images. They entered into a business partnership that resulted in the creation of the daguerreotype, an innovative photographic process that required only four to five minutes of exposure.

 

The quicker shutter speed allowed Daguerre's camera to capture an image never seen before: a photo of a human being. In 1838, he debuted a daguerreotype of a street scene on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris. In the lower left corner of the photo we can see a man having his shoes shined; remaining stationary allowed him to be included in the photo, something that would have been impossible using the multiple-day exposure that heliographs required. This anonymous stranger on Boulevard du Temple was not simply the subject of the world's first candid photograph — he's also believed to be the first human being ever photographed.

 

By the Numbers

Percentage of Americans aged 18 to 29 who practiced photography in 2023

22%

Projected percentage of photos taken by smartphones in 2024

94%

Cameras in the world's largest camera collection

4,425

Cat photos on the internet

6.5 billion

DID YOU KNOW?

An American photographer took the first selfie in 1839.

In the fall of 1839, a Philadelphia silversmith named Robert Cornelius decided to take a self-portrait. In itself, this was nothing new; painters had been making self-portraits for more than 200 years. What set this work apart from that of the old masters was that Cornelius used a camera obscura to photograph himself. The resulting image is considered the first selfie, as well as the first portrait photo. Cornelius was an unlikely photography pioneer. He began working as a silversmith for his father in 1831 and had no connection to the burgeoning field of photography. Fate intervened when a local photographer named Joseph Saxton contacted Cornelius to work on the silver plate for a daguerreotype. This spurred Cornelius' interest in photography, and in the early fall of 1839, he made his own camera and photographed himself in front of the family's business. According to Library of Congress conservationist Rachel Wetzel, "Taking a portrait is astounding in 1839. Taking a self-portrait is a whole next level up from that."

 

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Thanks to Dan. This is a repeat but a great story and one of my favorites…skip

     Here is the story of the two aviation maintenance officers who rescued the two downed fighter pilots in Laos:

     In 1971, my aviation unit (Alpha Troop/2nd/17th Air Cavalry/101st Airborne Division) was based at Quang Tri, South Vietnam.  Quang Tri is located a few miles S/O the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Vietnam.  We were a company sized aviation unit, with our own aviation maintenance section.  Assigned to that section were two maintenance officers whose primary duty was to coordinate all maintenance for the units aircraft, which consisted of three platoons of observation helicopters (OH-6 Cayuse), attack helicopters (AH-1G Cobra), and utility helicopters (UH-1 Huey).  Following whatever maintenance was completed on the assigned aircraft, both maintenance officers had to perform a maintenance test flight on each aircraft, before it could be returned to service.

     One day the two aviation maintenance officers were performing such a flight in the flatlands surrounding Quang Tri, which was a totally secure area, particularly during the daytime.  The two maintenance officers took off, by themselves, in a stripped Huey, which had no weapons, or gunners aboard.  However, during the flight, they monitored on the "guard" frequency, a request by a Forward Air Controller (FAC), for "any aircraft which can help in rescuing a downed fighter crew".  The maintenance officers, who not only were unarmed, but had no maps, and had never been in any combat, anywhere, answered the call.  The FAC immediately gave them directions from "Channel 103", the TACAN navigation beacon at Quang Tri.  However, Army pilots have no TACAN equipment on their aircraft, and navigate with 1:50,000 scale map sheets, anyway. 

     Subsequently, the FAC gave a heading to our intrepid maintenance pilots, which took them far to the West of Quang Tri.  Since they had never been there before, they flew on the assigned heading until the FAC had them in sight.  He then vectored them into a clearing, where two downed fighter pilots ran out of the tree line and jumped into the Huey.  The scene was not only not in Vietnam, it was deep in Laos, but the rescue crew, not knowing where they were, just flew where the FAC directed them to go. 

     As they climbed out, heading for Phu Bai Airfield, at Hue, S. Vietnam, the FAC reported that they were taking airbursts, which they were oblivious to, not having ever experienced that before.  When the Huey landed at Phu Bai, the rescued fighter crew were met by several members of their unit, based in Danang, S. Vietnam.  The aviation maintenance crew was rewarded for their actions by being "Shanghaied" by the fighter unit and wined and dined in Danang, then given "orientation" flights in a fighter aircraft at Danang.  The Commander of the fighter unit also ensured that the maintenance crew received appropriate valor awards for their actions in rescuing the downed fighter crew.

     This entire caper occurred in an area which, only a few months before, had been part of Lam Son 719 - The Invasion of Laos, where dozens of aircraft had been shot down by NVA anti-aircraft and small arms weapons.  We routinely flew near that area, still within S. Vietnam, and almost daily were shot at.  Those of us who flew there daily, were incredulous that our aviation maintenance personnel had accomplished the rescue, without any loss or injury, and without actually knowing where they were.  It was the type of mission that those of us who flew in combat everyday only dreamed about accomplishing, but which none of us ever did!

Dan

 

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Thanks to History Facts

5 Facts About England's Elizabethan Era

 

ELIZABETH AT TILBURY

In 1558, Elizabeth Tudor assumed the throne of England and Ireland and began her reign as Queen Elizabeth I. From the moment she was crowned, Elizabeth was an unconventional ruler. She was only the second queen in England's history to reign as the sole head of state, which made her a rarity not only in her own country, but throughout Europe in an era in which female monarchs were few and far between. Her lifelong refusal to marry also broke with tradition, and earned her the nickname "the Virgin Queen" (the state of Virginia is named in her honor). As a Protestant monarch, Elizabeth also had to withstand multiple assassination attempts from radical Catholic factions throughout her reign. Yet despite the challenges she faced, her reign is considered a golden age of English history.

 

Elizabeth's rule lasted until 1603, and was marked by a period of relative peace and progress, during which England experienced radical cultural and political transformations that continue to resonate today. Elizabeth ruled over a nation that saw the early plays of William Shakespeare and some of Europe's first expeditions to the Americas. Yet her time on the throne was also marked by moments of political and military crisis. For a quick look at what made this period of history truly unique, here are five facts about England's Elizabethan age.

 

Elizabeth's Coronation Date Was Chosen Based on Astrology

Queen Elizabeth I was crowned on January 15, 1559, a date selected by one man: John Dee. Dee was an influential figure at court, and was well known as a mathematician and philosopher. But his interests also veered into the supernatural and occult, and he was known to dabble in astrology and numerology. His prophecy skills must have come highly recommended, because Elizabeth asked him to use an astrological reading to select the date of her coronation, believing that an auspicious date would bring her good fortune during her reign.

 

The Era Marked the Beginning of British Colonialism in the New World

During the Elizabethan age, England took the first steps toward transforming from a small island nation into a global empire. British navigators made some of the first voyages to the New World during Elizabeth's reign, and explorer Francis Drake's voyages to the Americas gave England its first territorial claim in the Americas. Upon his return, Drake was knighted by Elizabeth herself on board his ship the Golden Hind. The queen also oversaw the establishment of England's first colonies in the New World. The explorer Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for Elizabeth, and Walter Raleigh established a British colony on the island of Roanoke near North Carolina. These early settlements marked the beginning of an era of colonial expansion that gave rise to the mighty British Empire, which at its peak in 1920 covered over 13 million square miles and was the largest empire the world has ever seen.

 

The Era Was a Time of Great Religious Upheaval

Elizabethan England wasn't without its problems, and one of the most significant was the riff between English Catholics loyal to the Vatican and English Protestants loyal to the Church of England. As the head of the Church of England, Queen Elizabeth had a vested interest in religious conformity, and made it a legal requirement for all British subjects to attend Church of England services on Sundays, regardless of their religious affiliation. (She also made it a finable offense to attend a Catholic mass.) The tensions between Catholics and Protestants lasted throughout Elizabeth's reign. The queen withstood four separate plots to overthrow her and replace her with her Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots; eventually, Elizabeth even had Mary executed for conspiring against her.

 

It Was a Golden Age of British Theater

The Elizabethan age is often regarded as one of the high-water marks of English theater, which became a frequent destination for royalty and common English subjects alike. Some of the most celebrated playwrights ever to write in the English language created their best-known works during Elizabeth I's reign. The most famous of these is, of course, William Shakespeare. Though Shakespeare's career as a playwright continued after Elizabeth's reign ended in 1603, many of the Bard's most famous works were written while Elizabeth was queen, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. The queen even personally attended performances of The Merry Wives of Windsor and Love's Labor's Lost. But England's dramatic output during Elizabeth's reign wasn't just limited to the Bard. Master dramatists such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and Thomas Kyd all produced classic works during this era.

 

It Saw England Defeat the Largest Fleet of Warships Ever Assembled (At the Time)

In 1588, Queen Elizabeth I faced the greatest military challenge of her reign: the Spanish Armada. The fearsome naval fleet was launched by King Philip II of Spain in an attempt to convert Protestant England to Catholicism and to neutralize the economic and political threats created by England's growing power. The Spanish Armada was the largest naval fleet that had ever been assembled, with around 130 ships carrying more than 19,000 soldiers. Its size even earned it the nickname "the Invincible Armada." Despite being outnumbered, the English were able to defeat the Spanish Armada, in part because of a devastating tactic in which eight ships were set on fire and sent into the midst of the Spanish fleet, forcing the ships of the Armada to scatter and weaken their formation. The English victory over the Spanish Armada signaled to the world that Queen Elizabeth I was a monarch to be reckoned with.

 

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This Day in U S Military History…….June 23

1784 – The 1st US balloon flight was made by Edward Warren (13).

1812 – Marine Lt. John Heath became the first casualty of the War of 1812.

1944 – The Soviet attack begins. There are four front-level commands engaged in the operation, under the STAVKA direction of Marshal Zhukov (the southern wing) and Marshal Vasilevsky (the northern wing). From left to right: 1st Belorussian Front (Rokossovsky); 2nd Belorussian Front (Zakharov); 3rd Belorussian Front (Cherniakhovsky); and, 1st Baltic Front (Bagramian). The Soviet combat forces directly engaged in the offensive amount to over 1,250,000 men (in 124 divisions), over 4000 tanks and self-propelled guns, over 24,000 artillery pieces and over 6300 aircraft. Soviet objectives include tactical encirclements at Vitebsk and Bobruisk while a deep encirclement would aim for Minsk. Soviet forces are then to drive west toward the Vistula River. The target of Operation Bagration is German Army Group Center (Busch) holding a salient centered on Minsk, and including most of Belorussia. Its forces, from right to left, include: 9th Army (Jordan), 4th Army (Tippelskirch); and, 3rd Panzer Army (Reinhardt). On the right flank of the army group is the German 2nd Army (Weiss) which is not targeted by the Soviet offensive. The German defenders amount to 800,000 men in 63 divisions with about 900 tanks and assault guns, 10,000 artillery pieces and 1300 planes. Advances of up 11 miles are recorded by Red Army troops of 2nd, 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic Fronts. The 1st Belorussian Front does not join in the assault during the day. Meanwhile in the far north, forces of the Soviet 7th Separate Army cross the Svir River.

1944 – American forces of the US 7th Corps (part of 1st Army) penetrate the outer defenses of Cherbourg. Elements of British 2nd Army also make gains. The British 5th Division captures St. Honorina, northwest of Caen.

1944 – In one of the largest air strikes of the war, the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force sent 761 bombers against the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania.

1944 – On Saipan, US 5th Amphibious Corps remains engaged in fighting. The 2nd Marine Division contineus to battle for Mount Tapotchau.

1945 – On Okinawa, the systematic mopping up of the island begins. General Stilwell takes command of the US 10th Army in place of General Geiger. Lt Gen Ushijima, Japanese commander, committed suicide.

1945 – American paratroopers land near Aparri on the north coast of Luzon, at the mouth of the Cagayan River, without incident. They link up with a large force of Filipino guerrillas. The combined force advances southward to make contact with the US 37th Division.

1969 – Ben Het, a U.S. Special Forces camp located 288 miles northeast of Saigon and six miles from the junction of the Cambodian, Laotian and South Vietnamese borders, is besieged and cut off by 2,000 North Vietnamese troops using artillery and mortars. The base was defended by 250 U.S. soldiers and 750 South Vietnamese Montagnard tribesmen. The siege lasted until July 2 when the defenders were reinforced by an allied relief column.

1972 – US helicopters are required to fly almost all the dangerous missions around An loc because South Vietnamese crews have panicked under fire. Several US helicopters and their crews have been lost in the last two weeks of heavy fighting causing bitterness among US airmen.

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

DRURY, JAMES

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company C, 4th Vermont Infantry. Place and date: At Weldon Railroad, Va., 23 June 1864. Entered service at: Chester, Vt. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 18 January 1893. Citation: Saved the colors of his regiment when it was surrounded by a much larger force of the enemy and after the greater part of the regiment had been killed or captured.

*BUTTS, JOHN E.

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Co. E, 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. Place and date: Normandy, France, 14, 16, and 23 June 1944. Entered service at: Buffalo, N.Y. Birth: Medina, N.Y. G.O. No.: 58, 19 July 1945. Citation: Heroically led his platoon against the enemy in Normandy, France, on 14, 16, and 23 June 1944. Although painfully wounded on the 14th near Orglandes and again on the 16th while spearheading an attack to establish a bridgehead across the Douve River, he refused medical aid and remained with his platoon. A week later, near Flottemanville Hague, he led an assault on a tactically important and stubbornly defended hill studded with tanks, antitank guns, pillboxes, and machinegun emplacements, and protected by concentrated artillery and mortar fire. As the attack was launched, 2d Lt. Butts, at the head of his platoon, was critically wounded by German machinegun fire. Although weakened by his injuries, he rallied his men and directed 1 squad to make a flanking movement while he alone made a frontal assault to draw the hostile fire upon himself. Once more he was struck, but by grim determination and sheer courage continued to crawl ahead. When within 10 yards of his objective, he was killed by direct fire. By his superb courage, unflinching valor and inspiring actions, 2d Lt. Butts enabled his platoon to take a formidable strong point and contributed greatly to the success of his battalion's mission.

*KINGSLEY, DAVID R. (Air Mission)

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 97th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force. Place and date: Ploesti Raid, Rumania, 23 June 1944. Entered service at. Portland, Oreg. Birth: Oregon. G.O. No.: 26, 9 April 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, 23 June 1944 near Ploesti, Rumania, while flying as bombardier of a B17 type aircraft. On the bomb run 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft was severely damaged by intense flak and forced to drop out of formation but the pilot proceeded over the target and 2d Lt. Kingsley successfully dropped his bombs, causing severe damage to vital installations. The damaged aircraft, forced to lose altitude and to lag behind the formation, was aggressively attacked by 3 ME-109 aircraft, causing more damage to the aircraft and severely wounding the tail gunner in the upper arm. The radio operator and engineer notified 2d Lt. Kingsley that the tail gunner had been wounded and that assistance was needed to check the bleeding. 2d Lt. Kingsley made his way back to the radio room, skillfully applied first aid to the wound, and succeeded in checking the bleeding. The tail gunner's parachute harness and heavy clothes were removed and he was covered with blankets, making him as comfortable as possible. Eight ME-109 aircraft again aggressively attacked 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft and the ball turret gunner was wounded by 20mm. shell fragments. He went forward to the radio room to have 2d Lt. Kingsley administer first aid. A few minutes later when the pilot gave the order to prepare to bail out, 2d Lt. Kingsley immediately began to assist the wounded gunners in putting on their parachute harness. In the confusion the tail gunner's harness, believed to have been damaged, could not be located in the bundle of blankets and flying clothes which had been removed from the wounded men. With utter disregard for his own means of escape, 2d Lt. Kingsley unhesitatingly removed his parachute harness and adjusted it to the wounded tail gunner. Due to the extensive damage caused by the accurate and concentrated 20mm. fire by the enemy aircraft the pilot gave the order to bail out, as it appeared that the aircraft would disintegrate at any moment. 2d Lt. Kingsley aided the wounded men in bailing out and when last seen by the crewmembers he was standing on the bomb bay catwalk. The aircraft continued to fly on automatic pilot for a short distance, then crashed and burned. His body was later found in the wreckage. 2d Lt. Kingsley by his gallant heroic action was directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded gunner.

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS

FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR June 23 THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

1905: The Wright Flyer III made its first flight at Huffman Prairie, near Dayton. This first fully controllable aircraft could turn and bank and stay up in the air for 30 minutes. (20)

1924: RACE WITH THE SUN. In a Curtiss PW-8, powered by a 375 HP D-12 engine, Lt Russell L. Maughan began his 2,670-mile from Long Island, New York, to San Francisco. He landed at 9:47 p.m after five brief refueling stops. He spent 18 hours 20 minutes in the cockpit and 3 hours 20 minutes on the ground. (4) (9)

1931: Wiley Post and Harold Gatty left New York on a global flight in a Lockheed Vega, the "Winnie Mae," powered by a Pratt & Whitney 550 HP radial engine. The 15,474-mile trip ended 8 days 15 hours 51 minutes later. (9) (24) Ruth Nichols crashed in St. Johns, Newfoundland, during her attempt to become the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic. (9)

1937: The US Army issued a contract to Lockheed to build the first XP-38. 1938: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Civil Air Authority Act. (24)

1942: The first BOLERO flight with 7 P-38s and 2 B-17s left Presque Isle for England to begin the buildup of US Air Forces in Europe. (24)

1944: While escorting B-17s on a raid to Ploesti, the 52 FG downed 12 enemy aircraft. This gave the unit 102 aerial victories in 30 days for a record that was never equaled by another group in Europe. (4) MEDAL OF HONOR. 2Lt David R. Kingsley, 97th Bombardment Group, Fifteenth Air Force, earned a Medal of Honor for putting his own parachute on his wounded tail-gunner (whose chute had been damaged). Kingsley thereby was directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded gunner by sacrificing his own.

1950: First run of rocket-propelled research sled made on the 3,550-foot track at Holloman AFB. FIRST USAF LOSS IN KOREAN WAR. A C-54, grounded for a damaged wing at Kimpo Airfield, near Seoul, South Korea, became the first aircraft lost in the Korean War. (18)

1952: KOREAN WAR. Through 24 June, combined air attacks by the Air Force, Navy, and Marines nearly destroyed the electric power potential of North Korea. The 2-day attack involved over 1,200 sorties in the largest single air effort since World War II. The Sui-ho complex sustained seventy percent structural damage, rendering it non-operational. (16) (28)

1953: TAC transferred its F-51 aircraft, "the USAF's last propellor-driven fighter in front-line service," from the 366th Fighter-Bomber Wing.

1961: Maj Robert White set a speed record for manned airplanes by flying the X-15 at 3,603 MPH. He attained this speed with a 75-second full-throttle operation of the XLR-99 engine. (9)

1966: PAGEOS, a passive geodetic satellite used by US Coast Guard, Geodetic Survey, and US Army Map Service, launched for use with 41 ground stations to develop a worldwide reference grid. In space, the satellite inflated to its 100-foot diameter and served as a photographic target.

1972: Northrop Corporation at Hawthorne unveiled the F-5E international fighter in a ceremony. At Edwards AFB, Maj Larry D. Fortner became the first USAF pilot to fly Northrop's A-9A. (3)

1987: The 308 SMW removed the last Titan II from its silo at Little Rock AFB. This removal ended the deployment of the Titan II in SAC's strategic arsenal.

1997: An AFFTC team flew a model of the LoFLYTE Neural Network Waverider RPV. The NASA program tried to design a hypersonic (Mach 5.0+) low observable aircraft capable of riding its own shock wave in the manner of the XB-70. (3)

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