The List 7265
To All,
.Good Tuesday morning August 12… Overcast and 62 now climbing to 84 by 2.
I hope you all have a wonderful day.
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/. Go here to see the director's corner for all 92 H-Grams
This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History:
August 12
1898 USS Mohican and USS Philadelphia (C 4) crew members take part in official ceremonies marking the assumption of sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands by the United States.
1918 The Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels approves the acceptance of women in the Marine Corps. The following day, Aug. 13, Opha M. Johnson becomes the first woman Marine.
1942 USS Cleveland (CL 55) demonstrates the effectiveness of radio-proximity fuze (VT-fuze) against aircraft by successfully destroying three drones with proximity bursts fired by her five inch guns.
1944 USS Pompon (SS 267) and USS Puffer (SS 268) attack Japanese convoys and damage and sink Japanese destroyers.
1957 The first test of the Automatic Carrier Landing System is completed by Lt. Cmdr. Don Walker when he lands a F3D Skyknight on board USS Antietam (CV 36).
1988 USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) is commissioned at New York City. The cruiser is the third ship named after naval battle in a New York lake where Commodore Thomas McDonough defeated a larger and more heavily armed British squadron Sept. 11, 1814.
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Today in World History August 12
0030 Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, commits suicide.
1099 At the Battle of Ascalon 1,000 Crusaders, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, route an Egyptian relief column heading for Jerusalem, which had already fallen to the Crusaders.
1687 At the Battle of Mohacs, Hungary, Charles of Lorraine defeats the Turks.
1762 The British capture Cuba from Spain after a two month siege.
1791 Black slaves on the island of Santo Domingo rise up against their white masters.
1812 British commander the Duke of Wellington occupies Madrid, Spain, forcing out Joseph Bonaparte.
1863 Confederate raider William Quantrill leads a massacre of 150 men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas.
1864 After a week of heavy raiding, the Confederate cruiser Tallahassee claims six Union ships captured.
1896 Gold is discovered near Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada. After word reaches the United States in June of 1897, thousands of Americans head to the Klondike to seek their fortunes.
1898 The Spanish American War officially ends after three months and 22 days of hostilities.
1908 Henry Ford's first Model T rolls off the assembly line.
1922 The home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. is dedicated as a memorial.
1935 President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Social Security Bill.
1941 French Marshal Henri Philippe Petain announces full French collaboration with Nazi Germany.
1961 The erection of the Berlin Wall begins, preventing access between East and West Germany.
1969 American installations at Quan-Loi, Vietnam, come under Viet Cong attack.
1972 As U.S. troops leave Vietnam, B-52's make their largest strike of the war.
1977 Steven Biko, leader of the black consciousness movement in South Africa, is arrested.
1977 Space shuttle Enterprise makes its first free flight and landing.
1978 Tel al-Zaatar massacre at Palestinian refugee camp during Lebanese Civil War.
1979 Massive book burnings by press censors begin in Iran.
1981 Computer giant IBM introduces its first personal computer.
1985 Highest in-flight death toll as 520 die when Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Mount Takamagahara.
1992 The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is concluded between the United States, Canada and Mexico, creating the world's wealthiest trade bloc.
2000 Russian Navy submarine K-141 Kursk explodes and sinks with all hands during military exercises in the Barents Sea.
2005 An LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) sniper mortally wounds Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, at the minister's home.
2012 Summer Olympics come to a close in London.
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. 81 years ago In August of 1942 The battle for Guadalcanal was in full swing. With Admiral Cox and his H-Grams and some inputs from Ed Beakley's Remembered Sky after the H-gram this is a start to look back to how the US Navy's Aircraft Carrier became what it is today.
Guadalcanal H-grams
H-Gram 009 provides an overview of the Battle of Guadalcanal and the first major night surface action, the Battle of Savo Island. The U.S. Marine Corps landings on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942 caught the Japanese completely by surprise, with minimal resistance on Guadalcanal itself and only spirited but short resistance on islands near Tulagi (across what would become known as "Ironbottom Sound") from Guadalcanal. The Marines captured the unfinished airfield on Guadalcanal, which would be subsequently finished and named Henderson Field and then would become the objective of the fierce and bloody battles ashore, at sea, and in the air.
During the course of the Guadalcanal campaign, the U.S. would lose two aircraft carriers (Wasp and Hornet—CV-8), five U.S. (and one Australian) heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, 15 destroyers, and numerous other smaller vessels—plus extensive damage to many more ships. The U.S. Navy and Marines would lose about 400 aircraft during the course of the campaign. At sea, the Japanese navy actually lost somewhat fewer personnel than the United States—about 3,800 men—but more than 7,000 Japanese army troops would go down with sunken troop transports, and more than 20,000 would be lost on the island itself. The Imperial Japanese Navy would lose two battleships and a light carrier, plus two heavy cruisers and multiple destroyers. It was the loss of the two battleships that actually caused the Japanese navy to stop feeding ships into the meat grinder off Guadalcanal, in the end limiting their efforts to inadequate attempts by destroyers (the "Tokyo Express") to resupply Japanese troops on the island. Ultimately, the Japanese executed one of the most successful deception operations of the war when they evacuated their last surviving troops from Guadalcanal in February 1943.
Although the U.S. landing caught the Japanese navy by surprise, it reacted swiftly with characteristic aggressiveness, first with land-based air attacks on 7 and 8 August, and then a night surface action on 8–9 August. This first naval action would be known as the Battle of Savo Island, and would be the worst defeat at sea suffered by the U.S. Navy in history. In what should have been an evenly matched battle between a Japanese force of five heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and a destroyer against an Allied force of four U.S. heavy cruisers, one Australian heavy cruiser, and six U.S. destroyers, the Japanese achieved tactical surprise and the result was a debacle. The heavy cruisers Astoria (CA-34), Quincy (CA-39), Vincennes (CA-44), and HMAS Canberra were sunk, with only minimal damage to the Japanese (993 U.S. and 84 Australian sailors, and 58 Japanese sailors were killed). Fortunately, the Japanese commander chose not to attack into the vulnerable U.S. troop transports and supply ships that were sitting ducks still in the act of off-loading. H-Gram 009 contains an overview of the Battle of Savo Island, and attachment H-009-1 "Defeat at Savo Island" has full detail of this disaster, termed by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest J. King as "the blackest day of the war," most of which was kept secret from the American public during the war due to wartime censorship.
Following the defeat at Savo Island, U.S. surface forces quickly vacated the waters near Guadalcanal, followed a day later by the transports. The three supporting U.S. aircraft carriers had also moved further away due to concern for air and submarine attack. It was during this period that the myth that the U.S. Navy "abandoned" the Marines of Guadalcanal took root, when in fact the Navy was running supplies into Guadalcanal at night on four fast destroyer-transports, three of which would be lost in the process, losing more men than the Marines lost in the famous Battle of Bloody Ridge (12–14 September 1942). H-Gram 010 provides an overview of the challenges of supplying the Marines on Guadalcanal (so much so that it became known to those on the island as Operation Shoestring rather than the formal name, Operation Watchtower). This includes the sacrifice of TRANSDIV 12, plus the major Japanese navy offensive push that resulted in the carrier versus carrier action known as the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, as well as actions by Japanese submarines south of Guadalcanal.
H-Gram 010's attachment H-010-1 "Operation Shoestring" provides additional detail on the logistics issues at Guadalcanal, as well as on the valiant fight of the destroyer-transports Gregory (APD-3) and Little (APD-4) against a much superior force of Japanese destroyers; both APD skippers were lost in the battle with their ships, as was the TRANSDIV 12 commander, Hugh Hadley. (The destroyer named in honor of Hadley—DD-774—would be heavily damaged by kamikazes at Okinawa on 10 May 1945, but in the process shoot down more than 23 Japanese aircraft, the all-time record for a single ship in a single day's engagement.)
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Rollingthunderremembered.com .
August 12
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
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "for 12 August . A daring POW escape with tragic results and a ban on future escape attempts
12-Aug: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1298
Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend . The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
By: Kipp Hanley
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This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
This one is personal. After my operation four years ago I developed the hiccups and there was nothing they could do to stop them for over three days. I was thinking of my father who once had them for over a month during a trip to Europe. Finally a nurse came in with a small pill and said try this one that she had received from a doctor. It worked and I wrote down the name. During a subsequent stay I developed them again and I told them to get some more for me. This was an entirely different crew and they had no idea about the medicine. Finally I had to sign a paper before I could take one because no one on the staff had any experience with it and they did not know about side effects. it worked again
The longest case of hiccups was 68 years.
No one likes hiccups. Luckily, these involuntary spasmodic interruptions usually last only a few minutes. On rare occasions, hiccups persist for a few days, and even more rarely still they persist for longer than a month (in which case they can be considered "intractable"). Then there's the strange case of Charles Osborne, who was afflicted with a continuous case of hiccups for 68 years — recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest case of hiccups in history. Osborne's story began with an accident on June 13, 1922, in which he accidentally slipped and fell. His doctor later said he popped a blood vessel in his brain the size of a pin, and theorized that Osborne must have damaged the incredibly small area of the brain that controls and inhibits hiccups.
Osborne's diaphragm spasmed 20 to 40 times a minute, on average, during his waking hours — meaning he hiccuped roughly 430 million times throughout his life. To cope with this never-before-seen disorder, Osborne learned breathing techniques that effectively masked his constant hiccuping. Later in life, Osborne appeared in magazines and on late-night television shows to talk about his ailment. In 1978, Osborne told the Associated Press that he'd "give everything I got in the world if I could get rid of them." Although he traveled the world in search of a cure — even offering $10,000 to anyone who could find one — the best he could do was cope with the affliction. Finally, in 1990, his diaphragm suddenly ended its 68-year-long spasmodic episode on its own. Sadly, Osborne died less than a year later, but he was at least able to experience the final days of his life sans hiccups.
By the way after reading this last year Dr.Rich . came right back with a note that said Thorazine which was correct. …skip
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From the archives
. Thanks to History Facts
Michelangelo's David was censored by Queen Victoria.
ARTS & CULTURE
T he statue of David is among Michelangelo's greatest masterpieces, but the sculpture isn't without detractors. One such critic was none other than Queen Victoria, who reigned over England from 1837 until 1901, centuries after the original David was sculpted in 1504. In 1857, a plaster replica of the David was shipped to Great Britain as a gift to Victoria from Leopold II, the grand duke of Tuscany. While the queen accepted the diplomatic gesture with grace, she was, according to some anecdotal reports, left aghast by the statue's blatant nudity. The work was sent to be displayed at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, where curators crafted a plaster fig leaf to obscure the reproductive organ that some found offensive. This leaf was attached with the help of "strategically placed hooks" that allowed it to be lowered in place in anticipation of any visits from female members of the royal family, as the statue otherwise remained uncensored. The leaf — a replica of which can still be found in the museum's collection — was last used during the first half of the 20th century, leaving the replica of David fully nude as Michelangelo initially intended.
However, even the original David statue endured years of unceremonious censorship. Upon its unveiling in Florence in 1504, the sculpture was covered with a garland made of 28 copper leaves to cover its nakedness, and the garland remained around David's waist until at least the mid-16th century. Concurrently, around the year 1541, the Vatican implemented a "Fig Leaf Campaign" to censor nudity in art that it deemed offensive. At first, the Catholic Church sought to cover up the naked figures in Michelangelo's painting "The Last Judgment," as well as similar works. Thankfully, many of these once-censored works of art have since been restored to their original condition.
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Thanks to Brett and 1440
DC National Guard
President Donald Trump declared a public safety emergency in Washington, DC, yesterday, activating 800 DC National Guard members over concerns of violent crime. He also invoked the 1973 Home Rule Act to take control of the city's police department for a maximum of 30 days. Over 100 FBI agents will be temporarily reassigned to nighttime patrol duties.
Federal data found crime in the district is at a 30-year low. Trump has cast doubt on the findings, pointing to a police commander who was recently suspended for allegedly falsifying crime data. He also highlighted recent violent incidents in DC, including a former DOGE employee who was attacked in a carjacking and an intern for Rep. Ron Estes (R, KS-4) killed last month.
Attorney General Pam Bondi will oversee federal control of DC's police, with DEA Administrator Terry Cole serving as interim federal commissioner. Trump hopes the federal takeover will model crime reduction tactics for other cities. ..
Steel Plant Explosion
Explosions at a US Steel plant near Pittsburgh yesterday left at least two people dead and 10 injured. The cause of the explosions is under investigation as of this writing.
The blast (see video; warning—sensitive content) occurred after a fire broke out at the US Steel Clairton Coke Works site in Clairton, Pennsylvania, roughly 20 miles south of Pittsburgh. The facility is the largest in North America for producing coke, a carbon-rich, porous material for steelmaking. In the process, coal is heated to as high as 1,125 degrees Fahrenheit without oxygen, which removes impurities and yields coke through a sequence of softening, liquefying, and resolidifying. The facility produces more than 4 million tons of coke annually .).
Residents within 1 mile of the plant were advised to stay indoors and set home cooling units to recirculation out of caution; air quality monitors have not detected toxin levels above federal standards.
AI Chip Exports Deal
Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices will pay the US government 15% of revenues from AI chips sold to China in exchange for export licenses—an arrangement legal experts say may violate the Constitution's ban on taxing exports. .
The deal, confirmed yesterday and expected to generate more than $2B in federal funds, comes amid concerns that access to American chips could help Beijing leapfrog the US in AI development. The Commerce Department began issuing licenses for Nvidia's H20 Friday and AMD's MI308 over the weekend, following last month's export ban reversal. Only these less advanced chips, which were developed in response to Biden-era export controls, are approved for sale under the agreement. They can't train new large language models quickly, but can power pretrained models. .
Separately, last week, Trump announced companies would face 100% tariffs on AI chips and other semiconductors made abroad unless they invest in US manufacturing.
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Thanks to Brett
Chinese Coast Guard ship Tried to smash into our Philippine Coast Guard ship They missed it. Instead, the China Coast Guard struck their own PLA…" / X
. Interesting video reflecting China's aggressive nautical behavior in the western Pacific, vicinity of the Philippines.
https://x.com/softwarnet/status/1954838735742279690
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Thanks to Brett and VDH
. Commentary
Revisionists Get It Wrong: Why the Atomic Bombings Ended WWII
Victor Davis Hanson
August 11, 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.
Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. This is the 80th anniversary of the Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, 1945, bombings—with nuclear weapons, atomic bomb—on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And this past week we've seen more of the usual revisionism that either the dropping of the atomic bombs were barbaric, criminal, had no effect, were unnecessary, and/or a bad mark on the history of the United States' activity in World War II.
It's part of a larger revisionist attempt in this generation. Winston Churchill—under these revisionists—is a terrorist. Adolf Hitler didn't really mean to start World War II. He could have sued for peace, had the British not been so stubborn. The war really wasn't worth the cost and lives and destruction entailed in defeating the Axis powers.
Nevertheless, though, there's nothing more wrongheaded than looking at Nagasaki and Hiroshima as preventable or unnecessary. Let me just go through three points.
No. 1, why didn't they drop it, as suggested, in Tokyo Bay? Drop it—the bomb—as a test. There were a variety of reasons.
Robert Oppenheimer was the head of the program to develop the bomb, at least the scientific element of it. And he organized a task force. And he suggested that they not use a test. And there were reasons why. They only had the uranium Hiroshima bomb and the plutonium Nagasaki bomb available. They might have had one in a few weeks. They might have had two or three more in months. But the point is, they didn't know if it was necessarily going to work.
The uranium bomb had never been tested. It was very dangerous to trigger it. They weren't even sure that it could not go off accidentally. The point is, they were afraid since the uranium bomb had never been tested. The plutonium bomb had only been tested on July 16, a little earlier. But it was never dropped from a bomber. They didn't know what were the atmospherics or what would be the effect, or if it was even feasible to drop it from a B-29. They had practiced, but they weren't sure.
So, in other words, they were afraid if they dropped the bomb and it didn't work or it didn't go off with a blast capacity they anticipated, the Japanese would sort of slough it off and say, "Is this all you have?" And then they wouldn't have had other bombs to remind them that they should surrender under duress.
More importantly, it was very dangerous to fly from Tinian, the Mariana's base of the B-29 bombers that were alone capable of handling this 10,000-pound monstrosity among American aircraft, to fly 1,600 miles into the Japanese mainland to drop the bomb and then fly back. The B-29s had lost 400 planes because of the weather, fighters, flak, and the sheer distances, navigation.
And more importantly, they felt that if they announced the test in advance and it didn't work, of course, the Japanese would even be more emboldened. They weren't even sure that a test, if it did work, would affect them. And that was proven correct. After the Nagasaki's second bomb, there was a coup, attempted coup, to try to force the Japanese government not to settle.
There were other reasons as well that we should look at this decision in a favorable light. The other was, did it save lives? It did. And it did in a variety of ways.
Of all the belligerents in World War II, the Japanese army, military, government—whatever term we use—killed more civilians and soldiers versus the amount of soldiers and civilians that lost than any other belligerent. More than the Russians. More than the Germans. In other words, it was a deadly killing machine that averaged 10,000 deaths a day at its hands. How else could you stop it?
No. 2, they had just fought six weeks earlier at Okinawa. That was the bloodiest battle of the entire Pacific War—50,000 American casualties, 12,000 dead. The period—the last 12 months, from 1944 in August to August of 1945—was the deadliest period in the American-Pacific War.
In other words, the people at the time thought things were getting worse, as far as American casualties, not better. After they looked at Okinawa and the horrific conditions and taking the Philippines, they estimated a million or more Americans would be killed in taking Japan by a land invasion.
No. 3, There's another macabre fact to this. Okinawa was just 700 miles to 800 miles from the Japanese mainland targets. Not 1,600 like the Marianas. Once it was captured, Curtis LeMay wanted to bring in 2,000 new B-29s, on order, to augment the 2,000 that they might have had soon on the Marianas. And remember, the European Theater was over. There were plans to bring in B-17s and B-24 four-engine bombers that were idle. The British wanted to chip in and bring hundreds of Lancaster heavy bombers.
What I'm getting at, had they not dropped the bomb, the fire raids would've continued, but not three or four times a week, every single day, from Okinawa. And not with 1,000-2,000 heavy bombers, but with an envisioned 5,000-6,000. That led Curtis LeMay to say, "The bomb wasn't necessary. We could have burned Japan to the ground and forced its surrender." Much more people would've died had that entailed.
And so, what did the bomb do? It stopped this Japanese war machine from killing people. It stopped a horrendous battle on the mainland of Japan, where the Japanese were waiting for an American invasion with 3.5 million soldiers and 6,000 kamikaze planes. These were the equivalent of or much more lethal than the V-1 buzz bomb rockets that the Germans used. The human mind is a very sophisticated computer and when put in a zero with a 500- or 1,000-pound bomb, it was an unstoppable cruise missile of sorts. And they had over 3,000 of them ready to hit the American fleet.
Add it all up and there was only bad and worse choices. We chose the bad choice that entailed 150,000 to 200,000 deaths from the actual shock and blast to the after effects. But the other alternative—of letting this Japanese killing machine continue to murder Chinese, Asians, Pacific Islanders, British Commonwealthers, and Americans, or invading the mainland, or continuing the fire raids—paled in comparison.
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From the archives
. Thanks to Dr.Rich
Dick Rutan's Celebration of LIfe .. video by Bill Whittle ... 🫡🇺🇸‼️
Caution damp keyboard may develop, and a lot of pride in your chest … It was a VERY memorable day celebrating Dick's amazing life.
No limits on distribution. Do send it to your list.
Burt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI0g9amSDXI
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. Thanks to Interesting Facts
The Most Tornado-Prone States
Tornadoes can strike almost anywhere in the United States, but some states are hit far more frequently than others. Understanding where tornadoes are most common can help prepare residents and inform safety measures. Here's a look at the states with the highest tornado activity.
1. Texas: The Tornado Leader
Texas stands out as the state with the most tornadoes annually. Averaging 151 tornadoes each year, Texas is the undisputed leader in tornado activity. The state's vast size and diverse weather patterns contribute to this high frequency, making it a focal point for storm chasers and meteorologists alike.
2. Kansas: Heart of Tornado Alley
Kansas comes in second, with an average of 91 tornadoes per year. Situated in the heart of Tornado Alley, Kansas experiences frequent severe storms, particularly in the spring and early summer. The flat terrain and meeting of cool and warm air masses create ideal conditions for tornado formation.
3. Oklahoma: A Close Contender
Oklahoma averages 68 tornadoes annually, placing it third on the list. Known for its severe weather, Oklahoma's residents are no strangers to tornado warnings and drills. The state's central location in Tornado Alley means it often experiences some of the most powerful and destructive tornadoes.
4. Florida: Tornadoes in the Sunshine State
Florida might be famous for its hurricanes, but it also sees a significant number of tornadoes, averaging 60 per year. Unlike the central plains, Florida's tornadoes are often associated with tropical storms and hurricanes, which can spawn multiple tornadoes as they move inland.
5. Nebraska: Consistent Tornado Activity
Nebraska rounds out the top five, with an average of 55 tornadoes each year. Much like Kansas and Oklahoma, Nebraska's position within Tornado Alley means it frequently experiences severe weather conditions conducive to tornado formation.
Other Notable Mentions: Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, and Alabama
These four other states also see a high number of tornadoes annually. Illinois averages 54 tornadoes, Iowa 52, while both Mississippi and Alabama average 50 tornadoes each year. These states, particularly Mississippi and Alabama, are part of a region known as Dixie Alley, which has seen increasing tornado activity in recent years.
Tornado Season and Frequency
The U.S. averages 1,333 tornadoes annually, with more than half occurring between April and June. Tornado season can vary by region, with the Great Plains experiencing peak activity in the spring, while Dixie Alley sees more tornadoes in the late fall and winter.
Understanding where tornadoes are most common helps communities prepare and stay safe. From Texas to Nebraska, these states are on the frontline of tornado activity, making it crucial for residents to be aware and ready for severe weather strikes.
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This Day in U S Military History
12 August
1898 – The brief and one-sided Spanish-American War comes to an end when Spain formally agrees to a peace protocol on U.S. terms: the cession of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Manila in the Philippines to the United States pending a final peace treaty. The Spanish-American War had its origins in the rebellion against Spanish rule that began in Cuba in 1895. The repressive measures that Spain took to suppress the guerrilla war, such as herding Cuba's rural population into disease-ridden garrison towns, were graphically portrayed in U.S. newspapers and enflamed public opinion. In January 1898, violence in Havana led U.S. authorities to order the battleship USS Maine to the city's port to protect American citizens. On February 15, a massive explosion of unknown origin sank the Maine in the Havana harbor, killing 260 of the 400 American crewmembers aboard. An official U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry ruled in March, without much evidence, that the ship was blown up by a mine but did not directly place the blame on Spain. Much of Congress and a majority of the American public expressed little doubt that Spain was responsible, and called for a declaration of war. In April, the U.S. Congress prepared for war, adopting joint congressional resolutions demanding a Spanish withdrawal from Cuba and authorizing President William McKinley to use force. On April 23, President McKinley asked for 125,000 volunteers to fight against Spain. The next day, Spain issued a declaration of war. The United States declared war on April 25. On May 1, the U.S. Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey destroyed the Spanish Pacific fleet at Manila Bay in the first battle of the Spanish-American War. Dewey's decisive victory cleared the way for the U.S. occupation of Manila in August and the eventual transfer of the Philippines from Spanish to American control. On the other side of the world, a Spanish fleet docked in Cuba's Santiago harbor in May after racing across the Atlantic from Spain. A superior U.S. naval force arrived soon after and blockaded the harbor entrance. In June, the U.S. Army Fifth Corps landed in Cuba with the aim of marching to Santiago and launching a coordinated land and sea assault on the Spanish stronghold. Included among the U.S. ground troops were the Theodore Roosevelt-led "Rough Riders," a collection of Western cowboys and Eastern blue bloods officially known as the First U.S. Voluntary Cavalry. On July 1, the Americans won the Battle of San Juan Hill, and the next day they began a siege of Santiago. On July 3, the Spanish fleet was destroyed off Santiago by U.S. warships under Admiral William Sampson, and on July 17 the Spanish surrendered the city–and thus Cuba–to the Americans. In Puerto Rico, Spanish forces likewise crumbled in the face of superior U.S. forces, and on August 12 an armistice was signed between Spain and the United States. On December 10, the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Spanish-American War. The once-proud Spanish empire was virtually dissolved, and the United States gained its first overseas empire. Puerto Rico and Guam were ceded to the United States, the Philippines were bought for $20 million, and Cuba became a U.S. protectorate. Philippine insurgents who fought against Spanish rule during the war immediately turned their guns against the new occupiers, and 10 times more U.S. troops died suppressing the Philippines than in defeating Spain.
1918 – SECNAV approves acceptance of women as yeoman (F) in U.S. Navy.
1918 – The Secretary of the Navy authorized the enlistment of women into the Marine Corps Reserve.
1941 – The House passes an extension of the draft period from one year to thirty months (and a similar increase for service in the National Guard) after considerable debate. The bill is passed by one vote (203-202) in the House, so it would be incorrect to suggest that American political opinion is strongly in favor of a more aggressive international policy at this point.
1941 – Churchill and Roosevelt conclude their meeting at Placentia Bay. It is agreed to send strong warnings to the Japanese and it is understood the America will almost certainly enter the war if Japan attacks British or Dutch possessions in the East Indies or Malaysia. A message is also sent to Stalin, proposing a meeting in Moscow. The conference is most remembered for the agreement later called the Atlantic Charter. This is a statement of principles governing the policies of Britain and the USA and states that all countries have the right to hold free elections and to be free from foreign pressure. The conference also gives British and American staffs an opportunity to get to know each other and to work together.
1942 – Strong American forces are landed on Espiritu Santu to build a supply base for the Guadalcanal campaign.
1942 – USS Cleveland (CL-55) demonstrates effectiveness of radio-proximity fuze (VT-fuze) against aircraft by successfully destroying 3 drones with proximity bursts fired by her five inch guns.
1944 – The first PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean) becomes operational carrying fuel from the Isle of Wight to Cherbourg.
1944 – The US 15th Corps (part of US 3rd Army) captures Alencon and advances to the outskirts of Argentan where the German 116th Panzer Division is located.
1944 – Italian based American bombers attack the Bordeaux-Merignac airfield and then fly on to Britain.
1944 – Elements of US 5th Army complete the capture of Florence.
1944 – LT Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., USNR, the older brother of John F. Kennedy, was killed with his co-pilot in a mid-air explosion after taking off from England in a PB4Y from Special Attack Unit One (SAU-1). Following manual takeoff, they were supposed to parachute out over the English Channel while the radio-controlled explosive filled drone proceeded to attack a German V-2 missile-launching site. Possible causes include faulty wiring or FM signals from a nearby transmitter.
1945 – Over Japan, B-29 Superfortress bombers continue attacks on targets.
1945 – The battleship USS Pennsylvania is damaged by an attack from a Japanese torpedo bomber off the island of Okinawa. Meanwhile, A Japanese submarine sinks the American destroyer Thomas F. Nickel and the landing craft Oak Hill.
1957 – In first test of Automatic Carrier Landing System, LCDR Don Walker is landed on USS Antietam.
1958 – USS Nautilus (SSN-571) arrives Portland, England completing first submerged under ice cruise from Pacific to Atlantic Oceans.
1959 – The 1st ship firing of a Polaris missile was from Observation Island.
1960 – USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to 41,600 m.
1969 – Viet Cong forces launch a new offensive with attacks on 150 cities, towns, and bases, including Da Nang and Hue. The heaviest attacks were aimed at the area adjacent to the Cambodian border northwest of Saigon; an estimated 2,000 Communists attacked Tay Ninh, Quan Loi, Loc Ninh, and An Loc. Further north, North Vietnamese commandos fought their way into the U.S. First Marine Division headquarters in Da Nang. They were eventually driven out by the Marines, who killed 40 Communist soldiers, sustaining five killed and 23 wounded in the process.
1972 – As the last U.S. ground troops left Vietnam, B-52's made their largest strike of the war.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*WORLEY, KENNETH L.
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Bo Ban, Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, 12 August 1968. Entered service at: Fresno, Calif. Born: 27 April 1948, Farmington, N. Mex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machine gunner with Company L, 3d Battalion, in action against enemy forces. After establishing a night ambush position in a house in the Bo Ban, Hamlet of Quang Nam Province, security was set up and the remainder of the patrol members retired until their respective watch. During the early morning hours the marines were abruptly awakened by the platoon leader's warning that "grenades" had landed in the house. Fully realizing the inevitable result of his actions, L/Cpl. Worley, in a valiant act of heroism, instantly threw himself upon the grenade nearest him and his comrades, absorbing with his body, the full and tremendous force of the explosion. Through his extraordinary initiative and inspiring valor in the face of almost certain death, he saved his comrades from serious injury and possible loss of life although 5 of his fellow marines incurred minor wounds as the other grenades exploded. L/Cpl. Worley's gallant actions upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
ALVARADO, LEONARD L.
Rank and Organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army. Place and Date: Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam, August 12, 1969. Born: February 13, 1947, Bakersfield, CA. Entered Service At: Bakersfield, CA. G.O. Number: .Date of Issue: 03/18/2014. Accredited To: . Citation: Alvarado distinguished himself on Aug. 12, 1969, while serving as a rifleman during a mission to relieve a sister platoon, in Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam. Alvarado was killed in action after disrupting an enemy raid and saving the lives of several comrades, leaving behind his wife and young daughter.
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This Day in Aviation History" brought to you by the Daedalians Airpower Blog Update. To subscribe to this weekly email, go to https://daedalians.org/airpower-blog/.
Aug. 11, 1921
The practical development of carrier arresting gear began when pilot Lt. Alfred M. Pride, Daedalian Founder Member #13030, taxied an Aeromarine plane onto a dummy deck and engaged arresting wires at NAS Hampton Roads, Virginia. These tests resulted in the development of arresting gear for Langley (CV 1) that consisted essentially of athwartship wires attached to weights along with fore and aft wires.
Aug. 12, 1944
Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., USNR, of VPB-110, temporarily assigned to Special Air Unit 1, and Lt. Wilford J. Willy participated in a mission in a PB4Y-1 Liberator, BuNo 32271, against a German V-1 flying bomb launching site in German-occupied France. The weight of the Liberator, which carried 21,170-pounds of high explosives, precluded take off by remote control, so Kennedy and Willy voluntarily made the takeoff from Winfarthing (Fersfield), England. The men remained with the drone to ensure the assumption of control by two "mother" planes — one used as insurance against potential equipment failure in the primary — and were then to bail out over England. At 1820, the Liberator suddenly exploded killing Kennedy and Willy. No cause was ever determined. The two each received the Navy Cross posthumously and the destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (DD 850) was named in his honor.
Aug. 13, 1918
During a patrol from NAS Dunkirk, France, pilot Ens. Julian F. Carson sighted a surfaced U-boat. The Germans challenged the plane and opened fire with their deck gun, hitting the aircraft in several places with fragments. Carson returned fire and bombed the submarine as it attempted to submerge, which drove the boat back to the surface at a sharp angle. The U-boat stayed there briefly and then slid stern first underwater. The French credited Carson with sinking the craft and awarded him the Croix de Guerre. Carson was Daedalian Founder Member #5848.
Aug. 14, 1912
Sgt. Vernon Burge received rating as the U.S. Army's first enlisted pilot on Aug. 14, 1912. He spent 10 years in the enlisted corps before receiving his commission in World War I, and then served the next 25 years as an officer. Burge, Daedalian Founder Member #345, retired as a colonel. He died at the age of 82 in 1971. He is buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. A bronze sculpture of Burge, honoring all enlisted pilots, is on display at Gunter Annex, Alabama, adjacent to the U.S. Air Force Enlisted Heritage Hall.
Aug. 15, 1949
Lt. Gen. Harold L. George, wartime Chief of Air Transport Command and then vice president and general manager of Hughes Aircraft Company, received the Air Force Association Award for his contribution to American airpower. General George was one of the original 35 Daedalian Charter Members, Founder Member #8, and the first national commander, serving from 1934-36.
Aug. 16, 1909
Acting Secretary of the Navy George von L. Meyer disapproved a request by the Bureau of Equipment for authority to advertise for the construction of "two heavier than air flying machines," with the comment: "The Department does not consider that the development of an aeroplane has progressed sufficiently at this time for use in the Navy."
Aug. 17, 1946
First Sgt. Lawrence Lambert became the first person in the U.S. to be ejected from an aircraft by ejection seat, in a P-61 flying at 302 MPH and 7,800 feet, over Patterson Field in Dayton, Ohio. Lambert, assigned to the Air Material Command Parachute Branch, was an 11-year veteran of the Air Corps. He had made 58 parachute jumps before the test. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 12, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
12 August
1908: Lts Frank P. Lahm, Bejamin D. Foulois,, and Thomas E. Selfridge began the first, official American airship tests at Fort Myer. (24) (See 28 August)
1918: Civilian pilots began flying airmail for the Post Office Department. (5)
1930: Capt Frank Hawks broke his previous round-trip transcontinental record of 27 June 1929 by 9 hours 33 minutes for a flight from New York to Los Angeles and back. He reached Los Angeles in 12 hours 25 minutes 3 seconds and returned to New York in 14 hours 50 minutes. (9)
1941: Capt Homer Boushey, Jr., flew an Ercoupe civilian airplane on the first successful rocket- assisted takeoff at Wright Field. (21) (24)
1945: From bases in China, Fourteenth Air Force attacked troops and convoys in Changsha corridor, China. (5)
1950: KOREAN WAR. USN Task Force 77 moved up Korea's west coast to attack interdiction targets in N. Korea, leaving all close air support and interdiction strikes in S. Korea to FEAF. More than forty B-29s attacked the Rashin port in northeast Korea, near the Soviet border. (28)
1957: With Lt Cmdr James M. Pruitt (USN) as the pilot, a Douglas A3D twin-jet Skywarrior flew from Hawaii to California. It covered the 2,438 miles in 4 hours 12 minutes to set a record for the eastward flight.
1960: Echo I, a passive communications satellite, placed in orbit. Maj Robert M. White flew the X-15 to a new FAI record of 136,500 feet to break Capt Iven Kincheloe's 1956 record of 126,200 feet in the X-2. (9) (24)
1961: The USS Abraham Lincoln set a record for underwater launchings by firing six Polaris missiles in one day. (16) (24)
1962: After two years in orbit, the Echo I satellite established that inflatable structures could function in space for long periods. In its 9,000 orbits, the aluminized mylar plastic balloon covered 277,257,677.67 miles while supporting some 150 communications experiments. (24)
1971: 2Lt Robert Stratton weighed 1,520 pounds for 45 seconds to establish a record for sustained high-G endurance. He set the record in a USAF School of Aerospace Medicine study.
1972: Lt Col Wendell Shawler became the first USAF pilot to fly the F-15. (3) At Indianola, Ind., Wilma Piccard flew 17.6 miles in a Piccard S-10 balloon to set a FAI distance record for subclass A-1 balloons (under 250 cubic meters). (9)
1977: The Space Shuttle Enterprise, a test vehicle designed to operate in the atmosphere, completed its first launch, descent, and landing from the back of a 747 at 22,800 feet above Edwards AFB. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center conducted the test program. (21)
1985: Through 15 October, a 436 MAW C-5A Galaxy delivered 35 tons of equipment, including three helicopters, to assist over 2 million flood- and famine-stricken victims in Western Sudan. The helicopters distributed grain to famine victims that were cut off from road and rail transportation. (16)
1987: Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space and the Associate Administrator for the Office of Exploration in NASA, released a study on long range goals for the US space effort. It recommended four endeavors: using space to study Earth, exploring the solar system, setting up an outpost on the moon, and making a manned expedition to Mars.
1991: The F-15 STOL demonstrator made its last flight at Edwards AFB, validating the F-15's Autonomous Landing Guidance System during a night landing at Edwards. (30)
1992: Operation PROVIDE TRANSITION. Through 7 October, C-130s helped Angola prepare for its first democratic elections by flying 8,805 demobilized soldiers home after 16 years of civil war and 265 tons of cargo on 326 sorties. (16) (18)
2005: From the Virginia ANG's 192 FW, Lt Col Phillip Guy became the first pilot to complete F-22 initial qualification training, while TSgt Scott Browning and TSgt David Dehart became the ANG's first F-22 maintainers. After completing training, Guy moved from Richmond IAP to Langley AFB, Va., to begin the wing's integration with the 1 FW. (32)
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